Saudis round up thousands of illegal immigrants
DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi authorities rounded up thousands of illegal foreign workers at the start of a nationwide crackdown ultimately aimed at creating more jobs for locals, media reported on Tuesday.
Bangladesh court sentences 152 to death for 2009 mutiny
DHAKA (Reuters) – A special court in Bangladesh on Tuesday sentenced to death more than 150 people among hundreds of border guards accused of murder and arson during a mutiny at their headquarters in 2009.
Heavy shooting lasting hours in Libya’s capital Tripoli
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Heavy fighting between militias using rifles, grenades and anti-aircraft weapons erupted in several parts of Tripoli on Tuesday in the worst violence in the Libyan capital for weeks.
Mortar hits Vatican embassy in Damascus, no casualties
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – The Vatican Embassy in Damascus was hit by mortar fire on Tuesday but there were no casualties, a Vatican spokesman said.
Austrian neo-Nazi group members get up to six years’ prison
VIENNA (Reuters) – Seven Austrian neo-Nazis were sentenced to up to six years in prison in a case the judge said should serve as an example to others in the country, which has a Nazi past.
France will keep to Mali troop reduction calendar
PARIS (Reuters) – France will not delay its troop withdrawal from Mali despite a resurgence in violence that saw two French journalists killed at the weekend, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Tuesday.
China army says roots out ‘illicit’ apartments in graft fight
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s People’s Liberation Army has discovered in a corruption probe that its troops “illicitly kept” more than 8,000 apartments and 25,000 vehicles, state media said on Tuesday.
Kerry: spying row shouldn’t cloud U.S.-EU trade talks
WARSAW (Reuters) – European concerns about alleged electronic eavesdropping by U.S. intelligence should not be allowed to cloud trade talks next week between the United States and the European Union, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday.
Russia says Iran must be invited to Syria conference
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia said on Tuesday Iran must be invited to a proposed peace conference on Syria, reiterating its stance after the main Syrian opposition leader said his coalition would not attend if Iran took part.
Hong Kong threatens sanctions on Philippines over 2010 hostage tragedy
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong threatened unspecified economic sanctions on the Philippines on Tuesday unless substantial progress is made within a month in talks demanding Manila’s apology and compensation for a hostage tragedy three years ago.