U.N. report finds torture still widespread in Afghan jails
KABUL (Reuters) – Afghan authorities tortured or mistreated more than a third of nearly 800 suspected Taliban-linked detainees who human rights investigators were able to interview, the United Nations said on Wednesday.
Australia pleads for mercy for drug traffickers to be executed in Indonesia
SYDNEY/JAKARTA (Reuters) – Australia’s foreign minister appealed to Indonesia’s president on Wednesday to show mercy for two Australian drug traffickers due to executed in Indonesia, expressing disappointment that their latest legal appeal had been rej…
Palestinian mosque damaged in suspected West Bank arson
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – A Palestinian mosque was set alight in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday and graffiti in Hebrew at the scene suggested the attack was carried out by a far-right Israeli group, officials said.
Bangladesh issues arrest warrants for opposition chief in graft cases
DHAKA (Reuters) – A Bangladesh court issued arrest warrants on Wednesday for former prime minister and opposition leader Khaleda Zia, action likely to escalate tension fuelling anti-government protests in which more than 100 people have been killed ove…
France says Russia would face more sanctions if Mariupol attacked
PARIS (Reuters) – Moscow would face more EU sanctions if pro-Russia separatists attacked Ukraine’s government-held port of Mariupol, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Wednesday.
U.S. senators propose $1.5 billion fund to combat global slavery
NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – U.S. senators have proposed legislation calling for the creation of a $1.5 billion fund to combat modern-day slavery around the world through more aggressive law enforcement and prosecution of human traffickers.
Earthquake measuring 6.2 magnitude strikes off southern Japan: USGS
SYDNEY (Reuters) – An earthquake measuring 6.2 magnitude struck off southern Japan on Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
Friction over India’s beef trade heats up after attacks
MUMBAI (Reuters) – Hindu nationalists in India have stepped up attacks on the country’s beef industry, seizing trucks with cattle bound for abattoirs and blockading meat processing plants in a bid to halt the trade in the world’s second-biggest exporte…
U.S. ‘deeply concerned’ by North Korean nuclear advances
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is “deeply concerned” about North Korea’s nuclear advances, a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday after a U.S. research institute predicted Pyongyang could possess as many as 100 nuclear weapons within five yea…
Myanmar rebel leader denies Chinese citizens fighting with him
BEIJING (Reuters) – The ethnic Chinese leader of a group of Myanmar rebels which has been engaged in renewed fighting with the government has denied in an interview with a Chinese paper that he has been receiving any help from Chinese citizens or merce…
