France stands by veil ban after riots
PARIS (Reuters) – France’s interior minister on Monday defended a ban on wearing full-face veils in public after a police check on a Muslim woman caused two nights of rioting near Paris, exposing tensions in immigrant-heavy suburbs.
Ethiopian troops quit Somali city, but no full withdrawal planned
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Ethiopia has begun pulling troops out of a former rebel stronghold in Somalia, but it has no plans for a complete withdrawal from the fight against al Qaeda-linked insurgents, its foreign minister said on Monday.
Britain says EU membership review reveals pros and cons
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s biggest review of its membership of the European Union in 40 years found evidence it had boosted economic growth and helped consumers, but also highlighted the need to keep control of its own tax policy, a government report…
Al Qaeda militants flee Iraq jail in violent mass break-out
BAGHDAD/MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) – Hundreds of convicts, including senior members of al Qaeda, broke out of Iraq’s Abu Ghraib jail as comrades launched a military-style assault to free them, authorities said on Monday.
UAE pardons Norwegian woman jailed in Dubai after reporting rape
DUBAI (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates has pardoned a Norwegian woman who was sentenced to jail for illicit sex after she reported being raped by a colleague while on a visit to Dubai, the Norwegian foreign minister said on Monday.
Pirates release oil tanker hijacked off West Africa
LONDON (Reuters) – Pirates have released an oil products tanker and its 24 Indian crew after it was hijacked off the Gabon coast last week, the vessel’s operator said on Monday, in the most southerly attack yet off the coast of West Africa.
Afghan parliament sacks interior minister over security issues
KABUL (Reuters) – Afghanistan’s parliament voted on Monday to dismiss one of the country’s top security chiefs by impeaching the interior minister in a potential blow to stability as NATO-led international forces speed their withdrawal from the country…
Portugal PM confirms reshuffle request, Portas to be deputy PM
LISBON (Reuters) – Portugal’s prime minister confirmed on Monday his intention to make junior coalition party leader Paulo Portas his deputy, coordinating talks with Lisbon’s EU and IMF lenders that has been a key condition to heal a rift within the go…
Radical Myanmar Buddhist monk unhurt in bomb blast
YANGON (Reuters) – A bomb exploded meters away from a radical Buddhist monk as he delivered a mass sermon in Myanmar, police said on Monday, the latest flare-up in tensions pitting Buddhists against minority Muslims.
Afghan parliament sacks interior minister over security issues
KABUL (Reuters) – Afghanistan’s parliament voted on Monday to dismiss one of the country’s top security chiefs by impeaching the interior minister in a potential blow to stability as NATO-led international forces speed their withdrawal from the country…
