Syria fighters hail declaration of Islamic ‘caliphate’
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Militant Islamist fighters held a parade in Syria’s northern Raqqa province to celebrate their declaration of an Islamic “caliphate” after the group captured territory in neighboring Iraq, a monitoring service said.
Suu Kyi races to change Myanmar constitution before 2015 elections
YANGON (Reuters) – With elections looming next year, Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is stepping up efforts to change a constitution that bars her from the presidency and gives substantial political power to unelected military members of par…
Pakistan army begins ground offensive in North Waziristan capital
PESHAWAR (Reuters) – The Pakistani army said it launched a ground offensive on Monday in a northwestern city considered a key Taliban stronghold after two weeks of aerial bombing.
Pistorius had no mental disorder at time of shooting: psychiatrists
PRETORIA (Reuters) – Oscar Pistorius, the South African track star on trial for murder for shooting his girlfriend, was not suffering from a mental condition that would have impaired his ability to distinguish between right and wrong at the time she wa…
Indonesia ruling party sides with presidential hopeful Prabowo: media
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s ruling Democratic Party, headed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, said on Monday it was backing presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto ahead of next week’s election, media said.
Thailand’s military begins overhaul of electoral system
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s military government said on Monday it had begun an overhaul of the electoral system following an announcement by junta leader General Prayuth Chan-ocha that polls could take place by late 2015.
Sectarian genie is out of the bottle from Syria to Iraq
BEIRUT (Reuters) – As jihadists storm through the Sunni heartlands of Iraq towards Baghdad, where a Shi’ite government they regard as heretic clings on, they have lifted the veil on deep sectarianism which has also stoked the fires of Syria’s civil war and is spilling over into vulnerable mosaic societies such as Lebanon.
Polish far right party moves into third place: survey
WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland’s far-right New Right Congress has almost doubled its support in a month, a poll showed on Monday, riding a Europe-wide rise of anti-EU movements to become the country’s third-placed party.
Dutch Islamist radicals becoming elusive ‘swarm’: spy service
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Radical Islamist groups in the Netherlands have become a decentralized and elusive “swarm” that may broaden their focus from the conflict in Syria to the wider Middle East, the Dutch intelligence service warned on Monday.
Russian sailors arrive in France for amphibious assault ship training
SAINT-NAZAIRE France (Reuters) – About four hundred Russian sailors arrived in western France on Monday for training on Mistral amphibious assault ships before the first of two is delivered to Moscow by the end of the year.
