Spain’s King Juan Carlos abdicates in favor of son
MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s King Juan Carlos said on Monday he would abdicate in favor of his more popular son Prince Felipe in an apparent bid to revive the scandal-hit monarchy at a time of economic hardship and growing discontent with the wider polit…
Death toll in fighting in Libya’s Benghazi rises to 18: medics
BENGHAZI Libya (Reuters) – The death toll in heavy fighting between the Libyan army and Islamist militants in the eastern Benghazi city has risen to 18, hospital doctors said on Monday.
Australian PM Abbott to meet Indonesian president as tensions ease
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will meet Australia’s prime minister this week, Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said on Monday, a sign of eased relations between the neighbors.
Suspected robbers in Pakistan say police hacked off their hands
BAHAWALPUR Pakistan (Reuters) – Pakistani police chopped off the left hands of two men accused of theft after they refused to confess to stealing electrical wire and mobile phones, the victims told Reuters on Monday.
Russia signals opposition to Western-backed Syria aid plan
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov signaled on Monday that Russia would oppose a U.N. resolution authorizing cross-border aid deliveries to Syria if it threatened to enforce it by military action.
Russia’s Gazprom gives Kiev extension into next week in gas dispute
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s Gazprom gave Ukraine on Monday an extension into next week to resolve a gas price dispute at the heart of the two countries’ confrontation, a day before Moscow was due to switch off the gas unless Kiev paid in advance.
Afghanistan attacks kill three Turks, three police
KABUL (Reuters) – Three Turkish construction workers were killed on Monday when a suicide bomber blew himself up near a police building in east Afghanistan and three policemen were killed in an attack in the south, officials said.
Taliban recruit young fighters as attacks rise ahead of Afghan vote
KABUL (Reuters) – Taliban insurgents intent on disrupting a run-off in the Afghan presidential election have begun recruiting fighters from radical Islamic schools, and ramped up their campaign of violence, officials and sources say.
Palestinian President Abbas swears in unity government
RAMALLAH, West Bank, (Reuters) – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas swore in a unity government on Monday after overcoming a last-minute dispute with the Hamas Islamist group.
Pro-Russia militia attack Ukraine border post
Kiev (Reuters) – A fierce battle was underway on Monday in Ukraine’s rebellious east after a pro-Russian militia attacked a Ukrainian border post with automatic weapons and grenade launchers in the early hours.
