Cyclone kills 24 in east India, sparks fears of floods
VISAKHAPATNAM India (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The death toll from a powerful cyclone which battered India’s eastern coastline rose to 24 on Monday, as the storm weakened and moved inland, leaving a swathe of destruction and triggering fears heavy …
U.N. chief demands Israel scrap East Jerusalem settlement plan
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on Israel on Monday to scrap plans to expand settlements in East Jerusalem, which Palestinians want as the capital of a future state, and urged both sides to return rapidly to peace talks….
Taliban ambush in Afghan north, bombs in capital and elsewhere kill 25
KABUL (Reuters) – Taliban insurgents ambushed a convoy of Afghan security forces in a mountainous northern area on Monday, killing 22 soldiers and police, an official said, as bombs in Kabul and another area killed three.
Sri Lanka re-opens rail link to former war zone after 24 years
JAFFNA Sri Lanka (Reuters) – More than two decades after its destruction in Sri Lanka’s civil war, the rail link between the capital Colombo and the northern city of Jaffna re-opened on Monday amid hopes that it will give a boost to reconciliation effo…
Lebanon to postpone parliamentary poll to 2017: minister
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanon is set to postpone next month’s parliamentary elections to 2017 because instability linked to the Syrian crisis has made it impossible to hold a nationwide poll, a government minister said on Monday.
More Bangladeshis found in Thailand on human trafficking route
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thai police found scores of sick and exhausted boat people hiding on a remote island on Monday, and all but one of the 79 suspected human-trafficking victims were from Bangladesh, according to local officials.
Nationalists with divided goals extend hold over Bosnia in vote
SARAJEVO (Reuters) – Nationalists deeply divided over the future of Bosnia have extended their rule over the Balkan country, offering scant hope of genuine change to a political system designed to end a war but seen as ineffective in peace.
Madagascar’s ex-leader detained after return: local media
ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) – Madagascar’s exiled former leader Marc Ravalomanana was detained on Monday after returning to the Indian Ocean island for the first time since he was deposed in a coup in 2009, local newspapers reported on their websites.
Britain’s ‘secret’ terrorism trial due to start this week
LONDON (Reuters) – Jury members were sworn in on Monday at the start of a terrorism trial that prosecutors had tried to hold entirely in secret – a bid unprecedented in recent British legal history.
Vatican document challenges Church to change attitude to gays
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – In a dramatic shift in tone, a Vatican document said on Monday that homosexuals had “gifts and qualities to offer” and asked if Catholicism could accept gays and recognize positive aspects of same-sex couples.
