Dubai pardons Norwegian woman convicted after reporting rape
DUBAI (Reuters) – Dubai 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 the emirate, the public prosecutor’s office said on Monday.
Palestinians, Israelis play down chances of imminent talks
RAMALLAH, West Bank/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israelis and Palestinians played down on Monday the prospects of their envoys meeting in Washington any time soon, and the White House said getting the two sides to agree a peace deal remained an “enormous chal…
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.
Spain taps social security reserve fund to pay pensions
MADRID (Reuters) – Spain tapped its social security reserve fund for the second time in a month on Monday, the Labour Ministry said, to help with extra summer pension payments as unemployment and retirement costs deplete government funds.
U.S. backs EU for designating Hezbollah wing as terrorist
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House backed the European Union’s decision to designate the military wing of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization on Monday, saying it sends a strong message that the group cannot operate with impunity.
Uganda police arrest opposition figure to prevent rallies
KAMPALA (Reuters) – Police arrested Uganda’s leading opposition figure on Monday saying he was about to stage illegal rallies, in what will be seen as the latest crackdown on dissent in the oil-rich African country.
Cuba still allergic to private property as reforms creep forward
HAVANA (Reuters) – Every Monday in the bowels of Cuba’s Palace of the Revolution, a group of men and women charged with revamping the island’s moribund economy meets to review progress in building what they have dubbed “a prosperous and sustainable soc…
China quake death toll more than doubles to 54, hundreds hurt
BEIJING (Reuters) – The death toll from a 6.6 magnitude earthquake in China’s western Gansu province on Monday more than doubled to 54 people, the municipal government said, with hundreds injured as many homes in affected areas collapsed.
Afghan lawmakers vote to sack minister over security
KABUL (Reuters) – Lawmakers voted to sack Afghanistan’s interior minister on Monday, accusing him of failing to quell attacks from militants as international troops accelerate their exit from the country.
Family of Egypt’s Mursi alleges abduction, new clashes in Cairo
CAIRO (Reuters) – The family of Egypt’s ousted Islamist president said on Monday it would take legal action against the army as his supporters and opponents clashed in street battles in Cairo.
