| France's Strauss-Kahn under investigation in pimping case Posted:  LILLE, France (Reuters) - Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was placed under formal investigation on Monday by authorities looking into a suspected prostitution ring in the French city of Lille, his lawyer said, following a day of questioning by judges in a closed courtroom. The investigation on suspicion of complicity in a pimping operation is the latest judicial headache for the Socialist ex-finance minister. The move could lead to a trial but it falls short of charging him. ...
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| Pope says Church needs more freedom to help Cuba change Posted:  SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Cuba (Reuters) - Pope Benedict arrived in Cuba on Monday and told the government it had nothing to fear from the Catholic Church, asking for more freedoms to help the communist country in times of change. Just three days after saying that communism no longer works in Cuba, the pope took a softer stance as he landed in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba for a three-day trip aimed at boosting the Church's role on the island. ...
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| Syria replies to Annan; Homs shelled again Posted:  GENEVA/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Turkey and Norway closed their embassies in Syria on Monday, further isolating President Bashar al-Assad whose forces bombarded the battered city of Homs with mortars in an effort to quell unrest. Video showed towering flames and thick black smoke billowing from at least two locations in Homs, Syria's third largest city, which has become the epicenter for the year-long revolt. Residents accused the army of indiscriminate shelling. "Every day the shelling goes on. The regime is wiping out the city," said Waleed Faris, an activist who lives in Homs. ...
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| UK asks China to investigate death in ousted Bo's city Posted:  LONDON/BEIJING (Reuters) - Britain has asked China to investigate the death of a British man in the southwest Chinese city of Chongqing formerly run by Bo Xilai, the leadership contender whose abrupt ousting shook the ruling Communist Party. The British national, Nick Heywood, died and was cremated in November. Questions about his death have been posted on Chinese microblogs, which have linked it to the background to Bo's ouster. ...
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| Colombian troops kill 35 rebels in new blow to FARC Posted: BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian troops on Monday killed 35 leftist FARC rebels in a remote jungle region, President Juan Manuel Santos said, the second blow to the drug-funded group in less than a week. The dawn attack in the central province of Meta takes the total number of FARC rebels killed by the armed forces to 68 after an attack last Wednesday killed 33 rebels who were resting in the northern plains region of Arauca. ... |
| U.S. suspends Mali aid as post-coup limbo deepens Posted:  WASHINGTON/BAMAKO (Reuters) - The United States said on Monday it would suspend some aid to Mali after last week's coup, estimating $60-70 million may be affected, but stressed it would maintain food and humanitarian assistance. Five days after an overnight coup, the West African state is in limbo with the whereabouts of President Amadou Toumani Toure uncertain, the putsch leaders disowned by neighbors and world powers, and Malians confused over their country's fate. ...
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| Cameron discloses Downing Street dinners in access row Posted:  LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron disclosed on Monday that a handful of British financiers and hedge fund bosses have dined at his private apartment in Downing Street and his official country house as he tried to subdue a "cash for access" party funding scandal. The premier announced an internal party inquiry after the resignation of a top Conservative fundraiser caught in a Sunday newspaper sting telling potential donors they could expect meetings with Cameron and possible influence over policy. ...
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| Footage filmed by French gunman sent to Al Jazeera: police Posted:  PARIS (Reuters) - Video footage filmed by the French gunman Mohamed Merah during his bloody shooting spree has been sent to the Al Jazeera television network in Paris, a police source said on Monday. Al Jazeera received a computer memory drive containing a montage of footage accompanied by Islamist war songs, and sent the package on to police on Monday, the source close to the investigation told Reuters. An Al Jazeera employee contacted by Reuters confirmed the report. ...
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| The ordeal of defending Norway's mass killer Posted:  TOENSBERG, Norway (Reuters) - The morning after militant rightist Anders Behring Breivik ran amok on a small Norwegian island, hunting down and shooting dead 69 people, Geir Lippestad received a call from the police asking if he would defend him. "My first reaction was 'no, I don't want to do this, it's just too difficult." He turned to his wife, a nurse. "She said 'wait. If he was shot, the doctors and nurses would... help him, they'd do their job. You're a lawyer, so don't you want to do your job?'" Eight months have passed since that call and there have been hard times for Lippestad. ...
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| Sarkozy to bar some imams from entering France Posted:  PARIS (Reuters) - President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Monday he would bar some Muslim preachers from entering France to participate in an Islamic conference next month as part of a crackdown after shootings by an al Qaeda-inspired gunman. Sarkozy, who is campaigning for re-election, has also announced plans to punish people viewing Islamist websites and going abroad for indoctrination since the killings. "I have clearly indicated that there are certain people who have been invited to this congress who are not welcome on French soil," Sarkozy told France Info radio. ...
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| Benedict arrives in Cuba as 'pilgrim of charity' Posted:  Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Cuba on Monday in the footsteps of his more famous predecessor, saying he holds great affection for Cubans on both sides of the Florida Straits and has heartfelt hopes for reconciliation.
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| Obama to Russia: More flexibility after elections Posted:  President Barack Obama told Russia's leader Monday that he would have more flexibility after the November election to deal with the contentious issue of missile defense, a candid assessment of political reality that was picked up by a microphone without either leader apparently knowing.
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| Annan: Syrian crisis can't be allowed to drag on Posted:  Kofi Annan, the United Nations and Arab League envoy to Syria, said Monday there can be no deadline for ending the Syrian crisis but it's urgent to move ahead quickly to stop the killing.
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| DSK gets preliminary charges in prostitution probe Posted:  Dominique Strauss-Kahn was handed preliminary charges Monday alleging he was involved in a French prostitution ring, his lawyer said. The former International Monetary Fund chief is denying wrongdoing.
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| World leaders praise Senegal runoff election Posted:  World leaders and international observers on Monday lauded Senegal's presidential runoff election, saying that the country's peaceful vote and its quick resolution provided hope in a region long beset by coups and strongman rule.
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| Afghan security forces kill 3 NATO troops Posted:  Afghan security forces shot and killed three international troops Monday, one of them an American, in two attacks. They were the latest in a rising number of attacks in which Afghan forces have turned their weapons on their foreign partners.
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| Mali coup leaders partially reopen airport Posted:  Mali's coup leaders said Monday they are partially reopening the West African nation's main airport even as demonstrators marched in the capital to protest last week's putsch and demand a return to constitutional order.
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| French gunman's journey to terror Posted:  Mohamed Merah grew up in one of the toughest housing projects of Toulouse, with his mother, two brothers and two sisters. At age five, his parents split up — and he took that hard. As a youth he turned to petty crime, landing in prison twice.
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| Papal visit gives Cuba's 2nd city a day in the sun Posted:  This sun-scorched city is accustomed to playing second fiddle to Havana at the other end of Cuba. On Monday, though, Santiago comes first as Pope Benedict XVI has arrived, bringing the world's gaze with him.
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| Egypt's Brotherhood faces double backlash Posted:  Egypt's powerful Islamists on Monday faced a backlash on two fronts as they try to solidify their hold on the country's politics, as liberal politicians quit a panel tasked with drafting a new constitution to protest its domination by Islamists.
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