A jail by another name – China labor camps now drug detox centers
KUNMING, China (Reuters) – Li Zhongying was freed from a Chinese labor camp ahead of schedule in September because, guards told her, the government was scrapping ‘re-education through labor’, a heavily criticized penal system created in the 1950s.
Eight dead as police helicopter crashes into Scottish pub
GLASGOW, Scotland (Reuters) – Eight people were killed and 14 others seriously injured when a police helicopter crashed into the roof of a packed Glasgow pub, trapping many inside in choking dust and debris, Scottish police said on Saturday,
Ukraine police smash pro-Europe protest, opposition to call strike
KIEV (Reuters) – Ukraine’s political opposition said on Saturday it would call a general strike to force the resignation of President Viktor Yanukovich’s government after police used batons and stun grenades to break up pro-Europe protests.
Syrian PM, visiting ally Iran, says government winning civil war
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Prime Minister Wael Halki said on Saturday Syrian government forces were winning the war with rebels and would not rest while a single enemy fighter remained at large.
Arab Bedouins protest against Israeli plan to move them into towns
HAIFA, Israel (Reuters) – Hundreds of Bedouin Arabs and their supporters clashed with Israeli forces on Saturday in protests against a government plan to force 40,000 Bedouins living in the southern Negev region to leave their villages.
Leading Egyptian activist turns himself in
CAIRO (Reuters) – Ahmad Maher, a symbol of the popular uprising that ousted autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011, turned himself in to the authorities on Saturday after an order was issued for his arrest for defying a new law restricting demonstrations.
U.S. calls on North Korea to release war veteran
WASHINGTON/SEOUL (Reuters) – The United States called on North Korea on Saturday to release an elderly U.S. military veteran held in custody since last month and who Pyongyang accused of killing civilians during the Korean War 60 years ago.
Brazil’s Rousseff improves odds of 2014 re-election: poll
SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has improved her odds of re-election since last month, while her potential rivals have lost ground, according to a Datafolha opinion poll published by Folha de S.Paulo newspaper on Saturday.
Central African Republic interim leader denies genocide threat
BANGUI (Reuters) – Central African Republic transitional leader Michel Djotodia on Saturday denied European assertions that his country was on the brink of genocide and all-out inter-religious war.
Greece’s ultra-right party holds rally in survival struggle
ATHENS (Reuters) – About 1,000 supporters of Greece’s Golden Dawn party gathered outside parliament on Saturday to protest against the pre-trial detention of their leader Nikolaos Mihaloliakos on charges of forming a criminal organization.
