India’s Supreme Court turns the clock back with gay sex ban
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s Supreme Court on Wednesday reinstated a ban on gay sex in the world’s largest democracy, following a four-year period of decriminalization that had helped bring homosexuality into the open in the socially conservative coun…
Myanmar releases 41 political prisoners
YANGON (Reuters) – Myanmar freed 41 political detainees on Wednesday, a government spokesman said, bringing the country close to fulfilling a pledge by President Thein Sein to release all prisoners of conscience by the end of the year.
China puts former security chief under house arrest-sources
BEIJING (Reuters) – China has put Zhou Yongkang, one of the most powerful politicians of the last decade, under virtual house arrest while the ruling Communist Party investigates accusations of corruption against him, several sources said on Wednesday….
Indian policymakers vow to tackle inflation after poll drubbing
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Tackling inflation will be a key priority, India’s finance minister and central bank governor said on Wednesday, after high consumer prices contributed to painful losses for the ruling Congress Party in recent state elections.
Italy PM Letta promises reform package to boost growth
ROME (Reuters) – Prime Minister Enrico Letta pledged a package of institutional and economic reforms to lift Italy’s stagnant economy out of recession and reach growth of 2 percent by 2015 as he opened a debate ahead of a confidence vote in parliament …
Amnesty probe finds Australia breaches asylum laws
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Rights group Amnesty International has urged Australia to review its asylum seeker policies and end offshore detention after finding “debilitating and humiliating conditions” at processing centers that breach obligations under intern…
Japan’s defense plans focus on China and islands dispute
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan will set up a new amphibious military unit and deploy unarmed surveillance drones in its southwest, where it faces a row with China over disputed islands, according to drafts of the nation’s latest defense plans seen on Wednesda…
Bangladesh’s top court adjourns Islamist’s death penalty hearing
DHAKA (Reuters) – Bangladesh’s Supreme Court has adjourned until Thursday a hearing to decide if an Islamist opposition leader can appeal against his death penalty, in a case that has heightened political tension less than a month before elections are …
Iran commander suggests foreign min stay out of military affairs-report
DUBAI (Reuters) – The commander of Iran’s elite revolutionary guards force, Mohammad Jafari, has suggested the nation’s foreign minister stay out of military affairs in a growing debate over comments by the minister that indicated Iran was weak.
Palestinians see worrisome trend in ‘honor’ killings rise
AQQABA, West Bank (Reuters) – A silvery green olive grove set in the red soil of a Palestinian village is a crime scene – testament to a practice so sensitive that it is spoken of only in whispers.
