Sri Lankan opposition seeks police action against Australian tycoon for casino
COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lanka’s main opposition party on Monday demanded that police take action against Australian gambling tycoon James Packer, who is due attend a Commonwealth forum this week, saying his plan to build a $400 million casino in Colomb…
Exclusive: West scorns Assad ‘shopping list’ for chemical convoys
THE HAGUE (Reuters) – Western powers will turn down a Syrian request for military transport equipment to ship out chemical weapons material, saying the armored trucks and other gear could be used to fight the revolt, diplomats told Reuters.
Financier of Taliban-linked group shot dead in Pakistan
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) – The chief financier of the Taliban-linked Haqqani network, one of the most feared groups fighting U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan, has been shot dead in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, militant sources told Reuters on Mon…
Moderates fade from political view in polarized Egypt
CAIRO (Reuters) – Moderate has become a dirty word in Egypt. Since the army ousted Islamist president Mohamed Mursi, anyone who refuses to support either side uncritically has become a traitor to both.
Mexican union boss at center of political row dies at 91: media
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Joaquin Hernandez Galicia, the once-powerful head of Mexico’s oil workers’ union whose arrest on charges of murder and illegal arms possession in 1989 created a political sensation, has died, Mexican media reported on Monday. He…
Storm kills at least 100 in Somalia’s Puntland
BOSASSO, Somalia (Reuters) – At least 100 people were killed when a tropical cyclone hit Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region at the weekend, the government said on Monday, declaring a state of emergency and appealing for international aid.
Congo, M23 rebels make peace but region still unstable
KAMPALA (Reuters) – Congo and defeated M23 rebels are to sign a peace deal on Monday aimed at ending the country’s most serious conflict in a decade, though other militias still roam and stability remains a distant prospect.
Italy and Malta say EU must press Libya to stop boat migration
VALLETTA (Reuters) – Italy on Monday called on the European Union to press Libya to stem the gangs smuggling migrants from Africa on overcrowded boats and prevent shipwrecks like the one that killed hundreds last month.
Hamas polices seas as tunnel smuggling suffers
GAZA (Reuters) – Hamas marine forces in Gaza foiled an attempt by residents to smuggle a car from Egypt on Monday, a police spokesman said, signaling a new area of illicit trade as the Egyptian army cracks down on border tunnels.
Syria opposition accepts peace talks, says Assad must go
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Syria’s Western-backed opposition agreed on Monday to attend planned peace talks in Geneva but said President Bashar al-Assad could play no part in a transitional government aimed at ending the 2-1/2-year-old civil war.
