Indonesia makes first arrests amid Sumatra fires: two farmers
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesian police on Monday arrested two farmers for illegally starting fires to clear land in Sumatra, the first detentions linked to blazes that have blanketed neighboring Singapore and Malaysia with thick smog for days.
U.N. says Pakistan has food “emergency”, but donors look elsewhere
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) – Hunger in Pakistan is at emergency levels after years of conflict and floods, but funding has dwindled as new crises such as Syria grab donors’ attention, the United Nations food aid chief said on Sunday.
White House expects Russia to look at all options to expel Snowden back to U.S.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House on Monday said it expects the Russian government to “look at all options available” to expel former government contractor Edward Snowden back to the United States to face espionage charges.
Russia’s Putin switches economy minister to the Kremlin
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed Andrei Belousov as his top economic adviser on Monday, beefing up his Kremlin staff with an advocate of a big state role in the economy as part of a wider rotation of his policy team.
Israeli air strikes hit Gaza after Palestinian rocket fire
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel carried out air strikes in the Gaza Strip on Monday in response to Palestinian militant rocket fire that broke weeks of relative calm along the frontier.
Analysis: Electing the EU Commission chief – a dumb bright idea?
PARIS (Reuters) – It seemed like a bright idea at the time.
Australia PM hits out at critics amid leadership turmoil
CANBERRA (Reuters) – Australia’s Prime Minister Julia Gillard hit out at critics of her record on Monday as speculation intensified of a fresh challenge to her leadership and opinion polls showed her divided Labor Party headed for a catastrophic Septem…
Japan ruling bloc sweeps Tokyo poll, on track for upper house win
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling bloc swept to victory in a weekend Tokyo election, a sign it’s on track for a hefty win in a July national vote that could strengthen Abe’s hand as he aims to end economic stagnation and bol…
Erdogan defends riot police tactics in Turkey protests
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan piled ridicule on activists behind weeks of protests against his government during a rally on Sunday and defended riot police who fired water cannon at crowds in Istanbul a day earlier.
Police remove flagpole at center of Afghan, Taliban row
KABUL/DOHA (Reuters) – Police have removed a flagpole from the Taliban’s office in Qatar, an official said on Sunday, expunging the last visible sign of official decoration that riled the Afghan government and derailed nascent peace talks.
