Rise in divorce in Iran linked to shift in status of women
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Weddings in Iran have long been an over-the-top affair with families spending thousands of dollars to celebrate a union. But now some couples are splurging on an entirely different sort of nuptial celebration: a divorce party.
African rivalries weaken U.N. hand against rebels in Congo
KINSHASA (Reuters) – Hundreds of Rwandan rebels in eastern Congo are defying a six month ultimatum to disarm, ratcheting up pressure on regional powers and U.N. peacekeepers to eliminate, once and for all, a force at the heart of two decades of conflic…
Special Report: Traffickers use abductions, prison ships to feed Asian slave trade
PHANG NGA Thailand (Reuters) – When Afsar Miae left his home near Teknaf in southern Bangladesh to look for work last month, he told his mother, “I’ll see you soon.” He said he expected to return that evening.
Japan prosecutors set to rule on possible Fukushima indictments
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese prosecutors must decide this week whether to charge Tokyo Electric Power Co executives for their handling of the 2011 Fukushima disaster, in a process that could drag the operator of the stricken nuclear plant into criminal c…
Consumed by Islamic State, Iraq’s Anbar province a key battleground again
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – In recent weeks, the world has watched the battle to save Syria’s border town of Kobani from Islamic State. But the radical jihadists have for longer been engulfing another strategically more vital target – Iraq’s western Anbar province and its road to Baghdad.
Canada police talked to militant suspect, couldn’t stop attack
SAINT-JEAN-SUR-RICHELIEU Quebec (Reuters) – Canadian police said on Tuesday they had arrested a suspected militant as he was leaving the country, took away his passport and talked to him several times but had no chance of preventing him from killing a …
United States welcomes release of jailed Vietnam blogger
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. government on Tuesday welcomed Vietnam’s decision to release jailed blogger Nguyen Van Hai, who staged a hunger strike to protest treatment of political prisoners, and said he was set to travel to the United States.
Canada police say they were tracking man who killed a soldier
SAINT-JEAN-SUR-RICHELIEU Quebec (Reuters) – A Canadian man who rammed two soldiers in Quebec with his car, killing one of them, converted to Islam last year and was among 90 people being tracked by Canadian police on suspicion of taking part in militan…
Britain to tighten charities laws to tackle terrorism funding
LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister David Cameron will announce plans on Wednesday to tighten the law to help stop charities being used as a front to raise funds for terrorist groups.
Chilean president’s landmark education reform passes first hurdle
SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Chilean President Michelle Bachelet’s landmark education reform passed its first major hurdle on Tuesday after the Lower House approved the bill and sent it on to the Senate, where a heated debate awaits.