Italian government confidence vote over budget will test post-Berlusconi strength
ROME (Reuters) – Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta’s coalition government said on Monday it would call a confidence vote on its 2014 budget, a move that will give the first clear proof of its strength since Silvio Berlusconi’s party split this month….
Swiss government urges voters to reject immigration quota plan
BERN (Reuters) – The Swiss government urged voters on Monday to reject quotas on immigrants from European Union countries in a planned referendum, saying the plan would harm the economy and strain relations with the 28-nation bloc.
Bangladesh to hold election on January 5, opposition likely to object
DHAKA (Reuters) – Bangladesh will hold a general election on January 5, the Election Commission said on Monday, in an announcement likely to anger the opposition which is demanding a neutral caretaker government to oversee the polls.
Parents guilty of killing daughter in case that captivated India
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – An Indian court on Monday found a dentist couple guilty of murdering their 14-year-old daughter and a servant five years ago, in a dramatic finale to a case that transfixed the country and tapped unease on both sides of the rich-p…
Egypt to hold constitutional referendum in January: PM
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s interim Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi said on Monday he expects a referendum on the constitution now being drafted to take place in January, not next month as previously expected.
Egypt moderates under fire from Mubarak loyalists, Islamists
CAIRO (Reuters) – A leading Egyptian social democrat fears the elite that thrived under former President Hosni Mubarak will once again dominate politics in elections promised by the army after it overthrew Islamist President Mohamed Mursi.
Adulterers may be stoned under new Afghan law, official says
KABUL (Reuters) – Death by stoning for convicted adulterers is being written into Afghan law, a senior official said on Monday, the latest sign that human rights won at great cost since the Taliban were ousted in 2001 are rolling back as foreign troops…
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait tighten controls on clerics
DUBAI/KUWAIT (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have been quietly reining in their clerics on concerns that preachers could use their influence to stir up trouble and inflame sectarian divisions at a time of high tension over the crises in Syria and E…
U.N. official says Malaysia should reverse ‘Allah’ ban
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia should reverse a ban on a Christian newspaper using the word “Allah” to refer to God, a U.N. official said on Monday about a decision that fanned religious tension in the mainly Muslim country.
Major Indonesia Golkar party clings to unpopular presidential candidate
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s second biggest political party has stood behind its candidate for next year’s presidential election despite fears among some members that the controversial tycoon was far too unpopular among voters to stand any chance of…
