Afghans battle for strategic Helmand after U.S. troops pull out
LASHKAR GAH Afghanistan (Reuters) – Afghan forces battled the Taliban in southern Helmand province on Monday for a second week, officials and residents said on Monday, seeking to reassert control over a strategic district just weeks after the departure…
Thousands denounce Japanese PM Abe’s security shift
TOKYO (Reuters) – Thousands of people marched in Tokyo on Monday to denounce a landmark shift in security policy by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to ease constitutional constraints that have kept the military from fighting abroad since World War T…
Mass Hong Kong protest looms as democracy push gathers steam
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong is bracing for its largest protest in more than a decade after nearly 800,000 voted for full democracy in an unofficial referendum, a move likely to stoke anti-China sentiment in the former British colony.
Russia protests over shooting of cameraman in Ukraine
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia protested to Ukraine on Monday and accused it of undermining a shaky ceasefire with pro-Moscow separatists after a Russian television cameraman was shot dead in eastern Ukraine.
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.
