Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court okays president’s third term
COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has cleared President Mahinda Rajapaksa to stand for a third six-year term and declare snap presidential polls after he completes four years in office, his party said in parliament on Tuesday.
Further economic sanctions on Russia not planned, Merkel says
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s Angela Merkel said on Tuesday there were no plans at present for further economic sanctions on Russia over Ukraine but she was unhappy that a ceasefire agreement was being broken and that pro-Russian rebels had gone ahead w…
Catalonia calls for ‘permanent dialogue’ on independence, economy
MADRID (Reuters) – The head of Catalonia’s regional government Artur Mas proposed on Tuesday that Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy establish a permanent dialogue over Catalan independence and raft of measures to boost its economy.
Ten women die after botched surgery at sterilization ‘camp’ in India
BHUBANESWAR India (Reuters) – Ten women died and 14 were in a serious condition after botched operations at a government mass sterilization “camp” in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, officials said on Tuesday.
South Korea court jails captain of doomed ferry for 36 years
GWANGJU South Korea (Reuters) – The captain of a South Korean ferry that capsized in April killing 304 passengers was jailed for 36 years on Tuesday after a court found him guilty of negligence, but was acquitted of homicide for which prosecutors had s…
Qatar emir issues summit invite amid strains over Islamists
DOHA (Reuters) – Qatar’s emir on Tuesday publicly invited fellow Gulf rulers to a Doha summit, apparently seeking to forestall what diplomats say is an attempt by some peers to move it elsewhere in protest at what they see as an Islamist tilt in his fo…
Nigeria’s Jonathan seeks second term, vows to beat Boko Haram
ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan announced on Tuesday he would seek a second term in a February election and vowed to defeat a five-year-old northern Islamist insurgency that has blighted his leadership of Africa’s biggest econom…
Review fails to dampen fears of UK child sex abuse cover-up
LONDON (Reuters) – The head of a review into the disappearance of a dossier handed to the government 30 years ago which accused figures at the heart of the British establishment of raping children, said on Tuesday there was no evidence of a high-level …
Spanish local government offices raided in new corruption investigation
MADRID (Reuters) – Law enforcement officers searched local government offices in 13 Spanish provinces on Tuesday as part of a crackdown on corruption by politicians and officials.
Palestinian rift reopens as Abbas blames Hamas for bombings
RAMALLAH (Reuters) – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday accused his Islamist Hamas rivals of carrying out a series of bombings against officials loyal to him in Gaza last week, in a move sure to harm already floundering unity efforts.
