Foreign workers stay home to escape Saudi visa crackdown
RIYADH (Reuters) – The streets of the Saudi capital Riyadh were unusually quiet on Monday as many expatriates stayed at home to avoid the start of a government crackdown on illegal foreign workers.
India’s ruling party seeks opinion poll curbs after gloomy ratings
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s ruling Congress party has supported calls to ban electoral opinion polls in the world’s largest democracy in what the opposition said is an attempt to suppress bad news during a busy election season starting next week.
Arab League backs Syria peace talks, urges opposition to go
CAIRO (Reuters) – Arab states formally endorsed proposed peace talks to end the Syrian civil war that have been delayed by disputes between world powers and divisions among the opposition.
Kenya charges four men with aiding shopping mall attackers
NAIROBI (Reuters) – A Kenyan court charged four Somali men on Monday with terrorist offences for helping al Qaeda-linked militants carry out an attack on a shopping mall in Nairobi that killed 67 people.
Trial of deposed Egyptian president Mursi adjourned to Jan 8: judge
CAIRO (Reuters) – The trial of deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi was adjourned to January 8, a judge said, according to a Reuters witness.
China berates foreign media for Tiananmen attack doubts
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s Foreign Ministry on Monday took a swipe at foreign media for suggesting there may have been social or ethnic motivations behind last week’s incident involving a car driven into pedestrians on Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.
Iran hardliners jab at Rouhani on embassy siege anniversary
DUBAI (Reuters) – Thousands of Iranians chanted “Death to America” on the anniversary on Monday of the 1979 seizure of the U.S. Embassy in a jab at moderate President Hassan Rouhani as he tries to ease tension with Washington and resolve the nuclear di…
French, Malian forces hunt suspects behind journalist killings
PARIS (Reuters) – French and Malian forces are questioning suspects in northern Mali to find a small group of militants who carried out the killing last week of two French radio journalists, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Monday.
Indonesian volcano erupts, forcing evacuation of hundreds
JAKARTA (Reuters) – A volcano erupted for the third time in as many months on the western Indonesian island of Sumatra, forcing hundreds of villagers to evacuate, officials said.
North Korea sailors killed when ship sinks during ‘combat duties’
SEOUL (Reuters) – At least 19 North Korean sailors were killed when a naval vessel sank during “combat duties” off the east coast last month, state media said, a rare admission by the impoverished and reclusive country.
