Tunisian army declares protest area ‘closed military zone’
TUNIS (Reuters) – The Tunisian army used barbed wire to shut down a main square being used by pro- and anti-government protesters in the capital on Monday, declaring it “a closed military zone”.
Vatican confirms deal on bank information with Italy
ROME (Reuters) – Italy and the Vatican have signed an agreement over exchanging financial and bank information to combat money laundering, the Vatican said on Monday.
India, Pakistan edge toward talks but old distrust remains
NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Nuclear-armed rivals Pakistan and India are edging closer to restarting peace talks that stalled in January after two Indian soldiers were killed and their bodies mutilated in a clash in the disputed Himalayan region of …
Cambodia’s Hun Sen shaken as opposition rejects poll result
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) – Cambodia’s long-ruling Prime Minister Hun Sen faced his biggest political setback in two decades on Monday as the country’s opposition rejected an election result as tainted by widespread fraud, despite heavy losses for the rulin…
Clashes erupt in Libya’s Benghazi after blasts, protests
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – At least one soldier was killed in overnight fighting in Libya’s eastern city of Benghazi, a security official said on Monday, in violence that has surged since last week’s killing of an anti-Islamist political activist.
Iran’s Rouhani to nominate Zanganeh as oil minister: ISNA
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iranian President-elect Hassan Rouhani will nominate Bijan Zanganeh to return to the post of oil minister which he held under Iran’s reformist government from 1997 to 2005, Iran’s ISNA news agency said on Monday.
Israel, Palestinians dispute format of Washington peace talks
JERUSALEM/RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Israeli and Palestinian officials put forward clashing formats for peace talks due to resume in Washington on Monday for the first time in nearly three years after intense U.S. mediation.
Japan may resume GMO-hit U.S. wheat buys this week: sources
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan could resume buying U.S. western white wheat as early as this week, industry sources said, after adopting stricter measures designed to detect genetically modified strains of the grain used for confectionary flour.
Taiwan names new fin regulator, defense minister in reshuffle
TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s top financial regulator and its defense minister have stepped down, the premier said on Monday, as part of a reshuffle that analysts say is aimed at boosting President Ma Ying-jeou’s increasingly poor popularity ratings.
Spain to mourn train crash victims; driver freed pending trial
SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, Spain (Reuters) – Spain was to hold a memorial service on Monday for the 79 people who died in the country’s worst rail disaster in decades, hours after the driver of the train was freed pending trial on charges of reckless homi…
