Amid carnage of war, Syria readies for Assad re-election
DAMASCUS (Reuters) – After three years of grinding conflict, the destruction of whole city districts and an exodus of refugees all triggered by an uprising against his rule, Bashar al-Assad is quietly preparing to be re-elected.
Sober times arrive for Czech parliament with a ban on booze
PRAGUE (Reuters) – The head of the lower house of the Czech parliament has banned the sale of alcohol on the premises during plenary sessions, ending an old tradition of selling cheap booze that brightened the mood among politicians and visitors.
Uganda defends anti-gay law at main U.N. rights forum
GENEVA (Reuters) – Uganda, under fire from Western nations, defended its toughened law on gays on Thursday as being aimed at “protecting” youth from homosexuality and discouraging public displays of gay love.
Qatar rift is pivotal test for disunited Gulf families
RIYADH/KUWAIT (Reuters) – A breach between Qatar and some of its Gulf Arab neighbors is a pivotal test for a three-decade-old union of monarchies formed to stand united when threatened by common enemies.
Abbas cuts salaries of Fatah rival’s security men
GAZA (Reuters) – President Mahmoud Abbas has halted salary payments to scores of security men loyal to a rival Palestinian politician, deepening disarray within their U.S.-backed Fatah faction, officials said on Thursday.
Niger extradites Gaddafi’s son Saadi to Libya
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Muammar Gaddafi’s son Saadi, his special forces commander who fled abroad during Libya’s 2011 revolution, was imprisoned in Tripoli on Thursday after Niger agreed to send him back from house arrest there.
Iraqi minister’s son misses flight, forces plane back: airline
BEIRUT (Reuters) – A passenger plane flying from Lebanon to Iraq on Thursday turned back after the Iraqi transport minister’s son missed the flight and phoned Baghdad to stop the aircraft from landing, Middle East Airlines (MEA) said.
Fire breaks out at Bangladesh garments factory, no casualties
DHAKA (Reuters) – A fire broke out at garment factory in the Bangladeshi capital on Thursday but no one was in the building at the time and there were no casualties, a police official said.
South Africa graft watchdog to release Zuma report March 19
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s main anti-corruption watchdog said on Thursday it would release its report into a $21 million state-funded security upgrade to President Jacob Zuma’s private home on March 19, less than two months before a genera…
China apprehending boats weekly in disputed South China Sea
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese patrols enforcing disputed new fishing rules in the South China Sea are apprehending foreign boats on a weekly basis, Communist Party officials said on Thursday.
