U.N. refugee chief urges common sense in Australia asylum debate
GENEVA (Reuters) – The head of U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said on Friday he hopes common sense will prevail in Australia’s election-season debate about how the country treats asylum seekers.
India refinery partly shut after fire, one dead: source
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s Hindustan Petroleum Corp has shut part of its 166,000 barrel per day (bpd) Vizag refinery after a fire in the cooling tower, which killed one person and injured 33 others.
Leading activist says Egypt revolution back at square one
CAIRO (Reuters) – Ahmed Maher’s April 6 movement helped lead the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak in 2011. With Mubarak now out of jail, he says the revolution is back to square one, and could take a generation to prevail.
Turkey calls for action after Syria attack
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey urged the U.N. Security Council on Friday to take “concrete action” after a deadly attack in Syria in which it said chemical weapons had clearly been used.
Czech president sets election date for October 25-26
PRAGUE (Reuters) – The Czech Republic will hold an election on October 25-26, President Milos Zeman officially announced on Friday, confirming a date he gave earlier for a snap poll that is expected to usher in a left-leaning, pro-European cabinet.
Gang rape of photo journalist shocks Indian financial city Mumbai
MUMBAI (Reuters) – A photo journalist was gang-raped in the Indian city of Mumbai, police said on Friday, evoking comparisons with a similar assault in New Delhi in December that led to nationwide protests and a revision of the country’s rape laws.
Britain operates secret monitoring station in Middle East: report
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain runs a secret monitoring station in the Middle East to intercept large numbers of telephone calls, emails and internet traffic that it shares with intelligence agencies in the United States, the Independent newspaper reported…
Tunisian opposition demands Islamist government quit
TUNIS (Reuters) – Tunisia’s secular opposition said on Friday that the governing Islamists must quit power before they would join negotiations to resolve the country’s worst crisis since its Arab Spring revolt, declaring otherwise the talks would be a …
U.N. combat brigade fires on Congo rebel positions
GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) – A new U.N. combat brigade formed to try to neutralize armed groups in Congo by force if needed fired artillery at M23 rebels menacing the eastern border city of Goma anew, U.N. and Congolese military offic…
Long-term nerve damage feared after Syria chemical attack
LONDON (Reuters) – Even those who survived the suspected chemical weapons attack in Damascus – and many hundreds didn’t – may have life-long disabilities and health problems for which there are few effective treatments.
