Beirut police detain Berlusconi ally ahead of mafia verdict
ROME (Reuters) – Beirut police on Saturday picked up a longtime political ally and friend of former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi after he was declared a fugitive earlier this week.
Iran insists on pick for U.N. envoy, to challenge visa denial: IRNA
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran on Saturday dismissed a U.S. decision to deny a visa to its proposed new envoy to the United Nations, saying it would take up the case directly with the world body.
India’s Modi stands by Hindu customs but wants progress for Muslims
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi, leading the race to be India’s next prime minister, on Saturday sought to blunt criticism that he is hostile to Muslims, the country’s biggest minority group.
China protests after Japanese minister visits shrine for war dead
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s foreign ministry lodged a protest with Japan on Saturday after a Japanese minister visited a shrine which is seen by critics as a symbol of Tokyo’s wartime aggression.
Myanmar’s first census in three decades extended amid controversy
YANGON (Reuters) – A group of women dressed in green sarong-like longyis and simple white blouses stand around a table piled with census forms, entering neat notations on spreadsheets by hand.
Maoist rebels kill 13 in blasts in Indian state
BHUBANESWAR, India (Reuters) – Suspected Maoist rebels set off two bombs in the eastern Indian state of Chhattisgarh on Saturday, killing 13 people, most of them paramilitary soldiers and officials charged with holding elections in the region.
Former U.S. Marine Hekmati retried, convicted in Iran: report
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Iranian-American Amir Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine whose previous death sentence in Iran on espionage charges was overturned, has been secretly retried, convicted of collaborating with the U.S. government and sentenced to 10 yea…
Magnitude 6.6 quake hits southwest Nicaragua: USGS
MANAGUA (Reuters) – A 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit southwest Nicaragua on Friday near the coast, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said, shaking buildings in the capital Managua and as far away as San Jose in Costa Rica.
Amid ‘gas war’ talk, Russia reassures Europe on supply
KIEV/MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to ease European fears of gas supply cuts on Friday after Brussels said it would stand with the new authorities in Kiev if the Kremlin carries out a threat to turn off the tap to Ukraine.
Scottish leader urges voters to put aside politics for independence
ABERDEEN, Scotland (Reuters) – Scotland’s leader Alex Salmond will on Saturday urge Scots to put aside party politics in the vote on independence, as he tries to win support from Labour rivals for his bid to leave the United Kingdom.
