Israeli cabinet approves ultra-Orthodox conscription law
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s cabinet approved a draft law on Sunday to abolish wholesale exemptions from military duty granted to Jewish seminary students, stoking ultra-Orthodox anger over the break with tradition.
Pakistan brings back death penalty, to anger of rights groups
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan’s new government, trying to appear determined to rein in escalating crime and militancy, has ended a ban on the death penalty, in a move condemned by international organizations as inhuman and retrograde.
Egypt’s central bank governor flies to Abu Dhabi
CAIRO (Reuters) – The governor of Egypt’s central bank, Hisham Ramez, flew to Abu Dhabi on Sunday, officials at Cairo airport said, following Egyptian media reports Cairo was seeking financial aid from Gulf states after the ousting of Islamist presiden…
Back to the future for Egypt’s state media
CAIRO (Reuters) – “The army and people, one hand!” was the rallying cry of jubilant masses of Egyptians in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on the night Hosni Mubarak fell, and again last Wednesday, when the army overthrew elected President Mohamed Mursi.
Syria’s Islamists disenchanted with democracy after Mursi’s fall
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syria’s Islamist rebels say the downfall of Egypt’s popularly elected Muslim Brotherhood president has proven that Western nations pushing for democracy will never accept them, and reinforced the view of radicals that a violent power…
Austria did not search Morales jet in Vienna: president
VIENNA (Reuters) – Austrian officials did not search Bolivia’s presidential jet for fugitive U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, Austria’s president said, seeking to defuse a diplomatic tussle over the incident.
Two Koreas agree to take steps to reopen joint industrial zone
SEOUL (Reuters) – North and South Korea agreed early on Sunday to take steps to reopen a jointly run industrial park, including facilities inspections, after the two rivals staged a marathon meeting lasting more than 16 hours to arrange details.
Online videos showcase Syrian rebels’ foreign weaponry
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – From his home in the English town of Leicester, former business administrator Elliot Higgins trawls through sometimes hundreds of online videos a day from Syria’s civil war.
Online videos showcase Syrian rebels’ foreign weaponry
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – From his home in the English town of Leicester, former business administrator Elliot Higgins trawls through sometimes hundreds of online videos a day from Syria’s civil war.
Blast hits gas pipeline between Egypt and Jordan
CAIRO (Reuters) – An explosion has hit an Egyptian gas pipeline in the lawless Sinai peninsula following a spate of attacks on security checkpoints in recent days, state television and witnesses said.
