Controlling the message: India’s Modi chooses state media
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Prime Minister Narendra Modi has anointed India’s state-backed broadcaster as his media brand of choice, helping shield his government from tough questions and prompting private news outlets to complain that they are being kept ou…
Fiercest fighting in days hits Syrian border town
URFA Turkey (Reuters) – The fiercest fighting in days shook the Syrian border town of Kobani overnight as Islamic State fighters attacked Kurdish defenders with mortars and car bombs, sources in the town and a monitoring group said on Sunday.
Reform-minded outsider Widodo takes over as Indonesia’s president
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s Joko Widodo will on Monday take over as president of the world’s third-largest democracy with supporters’ hopes high but pressing economic problems and skeptical rivals set to test the former furniture businessman.
Peru’s ex-prosecutor to head anti-corruption group
NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Global anti-corruption campaigners at Transparency International elected Peruvian lawyer José Ugaz as its new head on Sunday marking a shift from quiet diplomacy in combating fraud and bribery toward more grassroots activism.
Gunmen free hundreds of prisoners in east Congo
KINSHASA (Reuters) – Heavily armed gunmen freed some 300 inmates from a prison in eastern Congo on Saturday, the provincial minister of justice said, amid fears over deteriorating security in the mineral-rich region.
Hamas leader’s daughter received medical treatment in Israel: sources
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – A daughter of the leader of Hamas in Gaza was admitted to an Israeli hospital for emergency medical treatment this month after she suffered complications from a routine procedure, two sources familiar with the case said.
Trial of prominent Bahraini activist starts in Manama
MANAMA (Reuters) – Prominent Bahraini rights activist Nabeel Rajab went on trial on Sunday over remarks published on his Twitter account that were critical of state institutions, his lawyer said, in a case that has drawn criticism from international ci…
Serbian, Albanian PMs delay meeting after soccer row
BELGRADE (Reuters) – The prime ministers of Serbia and Albania said on Sunday they had agreed to postpone a meeting scheduled for this coming week following a diplomatic row over a soccer game between the two nations.
Death penalty fuels violence in Iraq, says U.N. report
GENEVA (Reuters) – Iraq should stop its widespread use of the death penalty, which is unjust, flawed and only fuels the violence it purports to deter, the United Nations said in a report on Sunday.
Croatian police arrest Zagreb mayor on corruption charges
ZAGREB (Reuters) – Croatian anti-graft police arrested the mayor of Zagreb, Milan Bandic, and several of his associates on Sunday on suspicion of corruption and abuse of office, Croatian media reported.
