Poverty drives Myanmar girls into underage sex work
YANGON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Teenager Wut Yee was devastated when her mother, a sex worker, told her that she had just agreed to sell her daughter’s virginity to a businessman for $3,000.
Latin American governments fail to tackle booming urban slums: report
BOGOTA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Latin America’s booming urban slums look set to continue their rapid expansion as government housing policies fail to tackle an explosion in informal housing, legal experts said on Monday.
Boko Haram leader Shekau says he is alive
LAGOS (Reuters) – Abubakar Shekau says he is alive and still the leader of Islamist sect Boko Haram, denying reports he is dead, according to a new audio message quoted on social media on Sunday.
Egypt’s Sisi approves anti-terrorism law setting up special courts
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday approved an anti-terrorism law that sets up special courts and provides protections to its enforcers in the face of a two-year-long insurgency that aims to topple his government.
India’s Modi visits UAE labor camp, underscores concern over worker welfare
ABU DHABI/NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited a labor camp in Abu Dhabi on Sunday to highlight New Delhi’s concern about the welfare of its migrant workers helping to build glitzy skyscrapers, hotels and museums in the oil…
U.S. warns China on agents pressuring expatriates to return home: New York Times
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States has sent a warning to Beijing about Chinese agents it says are operating covertly in the United States to pressure fugitives, including some suspected of corruption, to return to China, the New York Times report…
Iraq’s Abadi cuts 11 ministerial positions in reform push
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered an immediate reduction in the number of ministers on Sunday to 22 from 33, as part of a sweeping campaign to reduce corruption and mismanagement affecting the highest reaches of governmen…
Iraqi panel finds Maliki, others responsible for fall of Mosul
BAGHDAD/BEIRUT (Reuters) – An Iraqi parliamentary panel called on Sunday for former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and dozens of other top officials to stand trial over the fall of the northern city of Mosul to Islamic State last year.
Greek opposition party refuses to back PM in any confidence vote
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece’s socialist PASOK party joined the main opposition on Sunday in saying it would not back Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras if he calls a confidence vote following a rebellion in the governing party over a new bailout deal.
Sri Lankans to elect parliament in ‘referendum’ on Rajapaksa comeback
COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lankans elect a new parliament on Monday in what amounts to a referendum on ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s comeback bid, with the reformist alliance that swept him from power in January seeking a stronger mandate for reforms.
