In long-awaited speech, Gandhi tries to boost India’s ruling party
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s Nehru-Gandhi dynasty scion promised on Friday to combat corruption and warned of an opposition trying to split India on religious lines in his first speech since being named to head the embattled Congress Party’s campaign …
Syria hands Aleppo ceasefire plan to Russia, wants prisoner swap
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said on Friday he had handed Russia plans for a ceasefire with rebel forces in Syria’s biggest city, Aleppo, and was ready to exchange lists on a possible prisoner swap.
Mass grave fuels fear of thousands buried in Sri Lanka war zone
MANNAR, Sri Lanka (Reuters) – The discovery of a mass grave containing more than 30 skulls in northern Sri Lanka has fuelled speculation that there may be many more like it containing the remains of thousands who went missing during the island nation’s…
France’s Hollande visits ‘first lady’ in hospital: source
PARIS (Reuters) – French President Francois Hollande paid a first visit on Thursday to his partner Valerie Trierweiler since she was hospitalized in need of rest after reports he has a mistress, a source in his office said.
Stronach seen quitting Austrian politics next week
VIENNA (Reuters) – Austrian-Canadian billionaire Frank Stronach is expected to quit Austria’s parliament next week, 16 months after founding a party he hoped would reshape the political landscape.
China to put prominent anti-graft activist on trial next week
BEIJING (Reuters) – China will begin a long-awaited trial next week of a prominent anti-graft activist campaigning for officials to reveal their wealth, his lawyer said on Friday, on charges he broke the law by organizing demonstrations.
India’s Rahul Gandhi demands higher subsidy on cooking gas
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s Rahul Gandhi on Friday demanded raising the ceiling on subsidized cooking gas cylinders, continuing a populist streak as he leads the ruling Congress party into a tough national election due by May.
U.S. urges Myanmar to probe attacks on Muslim minority
YANGON (Reuters) – The United States on Friday urged Myanmar to investigate reports that security forces and Buddhist mobs attacked members of the Rohingya Muslim minority this week, killing as many as 60 people.
China decries foreign interference in detained academic case
BEIJING (Reuters) – China decried what it called interference in its internal affairs on Friday, after both the United States and European Union voiced concern over the detention of a high-profile ethnic Uighur academic from the restive western region …
Indonesia bristles over ‘deplorable’ Australian sea incursions
JAKARTA/SYDNEY (Reuters) – Indonesia will increase maritime patrols after what it called deplorable territorial violations by Australia’s navy as it tried to turn back asylum seekers, worsening an already bitter dispute between the two neighbors over t…
