Gloves off as India’s BJP woos the Hindu vote in northern heartland
MUZAFFARNAGAR, India (Reuters) – India’s main opposition party, tipped to form the next government, appears to be returning to its Hindu nationalist roots at the start of a five-week general election, raking up divisive issues and using strong language…
Japan, fresh from Australia pact, says U.S. trade talks ‘difficult’
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan, fresh from clinching a basic trade deal with Australia after years of negotiations, said it hoped for a similar result with the United States and for a regional pact, but cautioned that talks were “difficult.”
U.N. rights expert urges debt relief for Philippines
MANILA (Reuters) – A United Nations human rights expert on Tuesday urged international creditors to cancel the Philippines’ debt and give it unconditional grant aid instead of new loans to fund massive post-typhoon reconstruction.
Smooth Afghan election raises questions about Taliban’s strength
KABUL (Reuters) – A bigger-than-expected turnout in Afghanistan’s presidential election and the Taliban’s failure to significantly disrupt the vote have raised questions about the capacity of the insurgents to tip the country back into chaos as foreign…
Rwandans told ‘never again’, 20 years after genocide
KIGALI (Reuters) – The United Nations chief told a packed stadium of somber and weeping Rwandans on Monday the world would “never again” let genocide tear their nation apart, at a ceremony marking 20 years since 800,000 people were butchered.
Search for missing Malaysia plane set to move to sea floor
SYDNEY/PERTH, Australia (Reuters) – A robotic search vehicle is likely to be sent deep into the Indian Ocean on Tuesday to look for wreckage of a missing Malaysian jetliner on the sea floor, as officials say the chance of finding anything on the surfac…
U.S. presses on with Middle East talks rescue attempt
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – U.S. efforts to save Middle East peace talks from collapse showed little sign of progress on Monday amid threats from Israel to retaliate for what it saw as unilateral Palestinian moves towards statehood.
Valls seeks reform boost with French confidence vote
PARIS (Reuters) – New Prime Minister Manuel Valls will test France’s political will to reform on Tuesday in a confidence vote that will determine whether the government can push ahead with a competitiveness drive.
Two foreign U.N. workers killed in Somalia
BOSASSO, Somalia (Reuters) – A Briton and a Frenchman working for the United Nations were shot dead on Monday at an airport in north-central Somalia, officials said.
Egypt court upholds jailing of leading pro-democracy activists
CAIRO (Reuters) – An Egyptian appeals court on Monday upheld the jailing of three leading figures of the 2011 pro-democracy uprising, tightening a crackdown on secular activists opposed to the army-backed government.
