U.N. team returns to Damascus hotel after visiting site of alleged gas attack
DAMASCUS (Reuters) – A team of United Nations chemical weapons inspectors returned to their hotel in Damascus on Monday after visiting one of the sites of an alleged poison gas attack, a Reuters witness said.
Russia warns against military intervention in Syria
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia warned Western powers on Monday against any military intervention in Syria, saying the use of force without a U.N. mandate would violate international law.
Italy PM meets with centre right to defuse growing row
ROME (Reuters) – Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta met with a top official from Silvio Berlusconi’s center-right party on Monday to try to defuse a row which is threatening to bring down his fragile ruling coalition and has rattled financial markets….
Karzai stresses need for Pakistani help in Taliban peace process
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Monday stressed the need for Pakistan’s help in arranging peace talks with the Taliban in a meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who assured him of his support.
Syrian Kurds trek to Iraq over parched hills
SUHILLA, Iraq (Reuters) – Mariam Bozan Khalil spent days avoiding Syrian rebel militiamen on the road to Iraq, only to be forced to finish her journey on foot through sun-scorched hills.
India extends monsoon session of parliament by a week to pass bills
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India has extended the monsoon session of parliament by seven days until September 6, government officials said on Monday, giving the Congress party-led ruling coalition more time to pass economic reforms after weeks of disruption…
Ex-Maoist fighters join army in Nepal but challenges remain
KHARIPATI, Nepal (Reuters) – Nepal commissioned a group of former Maoist rebel fighters as officers in the national army on Monday, fulfilling a main component of a fragile peace deal that ended civil war but has failed to bring political stability to …
Sri Lankans protest against U.N. rights chief’s visit
COLOMBO (Reuters) – About 100 Sri Lankan demonstrators led by Buddhist monks protested on Monday against U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay, saying she should get out of the country and not criticize its human rights record.
Syria rebels seize strategic town, execute Alawite cleric: activists
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Rebel forces took control of a strategic town in northern Syria on Monday, cutting off government forces’ only supply route out of the city of Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Macedonia overcomes political impasse, averts election
SKOPJE (Reuters) – Macedonia’s government and opposition on Monday resolved a row over responsibility for a parliamentary brawl that had threatened to trigger a snap election and further damage the country’s attempt to start European Union membership t…