Pakistan Supreme Court to review Asia Bibi’s blasphemy acquittal
Pakistan’s Supreme Court will on Tuesday begin a review of its own acquittal of a Christian woman charged with blasphemy, a verdict that sparked days of Islamist protests and threats and chaos across the country.
U.S. does not seek permanent Afghan military presence: official
A senior U.S. government official said on Monday that the United States was committed to a withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan after 17 years of war.
Bahrain upholds life sentence against opposition leaders: BNA
Bahrain’s highest court upheld life sentences against three opposition leaders on charges of spying for Qatar, state news agency BNA and a rights group said on Monday.
Turkey aims to form safe zones in Syria for refugees to return
Turkey is aiming to form safe zones in northern Syria so that around 4 million of Syrian refugees hosted by Turkey could return, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday.
China says Canadian ambassador sacking an internal affair
China’s foreign ministry said on Monday that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s sacking of his ambassador to China was an internal Canadian affair, after the envoy prompted a furor with comments about a high-profile extradition case.
Iran says cannot confirm secret talks with France on Tehran’s missile work
Iran said on Monday it cannot confirm holding secret talks with France over Tehran’s disputed ballistic missile program as French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian had said on Friday.
Boris Johnson tells UK’s May: Ditch the Irish backstop and get support
The most prominent Brexit campaigner in Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative party said on Monday that she would get widespread support if she got the European Union to ditch the Irish backstop.
UK lawmaker Brady hopeful government will back Irish backstop amendment
An influential lawmaker in British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative Party said he was hopeful that the government would back his amendment calling for the Irish backstop element of her Brexit deal to be replaced by alternative arrangements.
UK education minister does not see no-deal Brexit becoming government policy
Britain’s education minister Damian Hinds said on Monday he did not envisage a no-deal Brexit becoming the official policy of Prime Minister Theresa May’s government.
Pilot had ’emotional breakdown’ before deadly crash, Nepal probe panel says
The captain of a Bangladeshi aeroplane “seemed to have an emotional breakdown” before a deadly crash last March, Nepali investigators said in a final report on the Himalayan nation’s worst aviation disaster in 26 years.
