 BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's crown prince has pledged 20 million euros ($28.4 million) to secure the release of a plane that has been caught up in a long-running commercial dispute and impounded in Germany. | |
| Factbox: China's restive Xinjiang region Sun,31 Jul 2011 11:36 PM PDT Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - China said on Monday that Islamic extremists were behind an attack on the eve of the Muslim fasting month in the restive western region of Xinjiang that left 11 people dead. Full Story | |
 BEIJING (Reuters) - China said on Monday that Islamic militants mounted an attack in the restive western region of Xinjiang that left 11 people dead and where the government announced a crackdown on "illegal religious" activities at the start of the Muslim fasting month. | |
 AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrians began the Muslim Ramadan fast in somber mood on Monday after troops stormed into Hama, scene of a 1982 massacre, in one of the bloodiest days of a five-month-old uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. | |
| Israeli troops kill two Palestinians in West Bank Sun,31 Jul 2011 10:42 PM PDT Reuters - RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Israeli soldiers shot and killed two Palestinians in the occupied West Bank Monday, medical officials and the military said. Full Story | |
| Snapshot: Lawmakers to vote on debt deal Sun,31 Jul 2011 10:30 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Here is what is happening on Monday as lawmakers prepare to vote on a deal to raise the $14.3 trillion limit on U.S. borrowing, just a day before the deadline to avert an unprecedented default. Full Story | |
 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - After months of vitriolic discord, Republican and Democratic lawmakers were expected to vote on Monday on a White House-backed deal to raise the U.S. borrowing limit and avert an unprecedented default. | |
 SEOUL (Reuters) - Isolated North Korea said on Monday it was prepared to resume six-party nuclear disarmament talks without preconditions at an early date following a flurry of diplomatic activity to restart the stalled process. | |
| Factbox: Key elements of U.S. debt deal Sun,31 Jul 2011 08:30 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - President Barack Obama announced on Sunday that Republican and Democratic leaders had agreed on a last-ditch deal to raise the U.S. borrowing limit and avoid a catastrophic default, and he urged lawmakers to "do the right thing" and approve the agreement. Full Story | |
| Rebels free five kidnapped Colombian oil workers Sun,31 Jul 2011 07:59 PM PDT Reuters - BOGOTA (Reuters) - Five Colombian oil contractors kidnapped by FARC guerrillas were freed on Sunday after military pressure to rescue the hostages, a senior army officer said. Full Story | |
| Deal reached to end debt crisis; downgrade still a worry Sun,31 Jul 2011 07:21 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Sunday that Democrat and Republican leaders had reached an agreement to reduce the U.S. deficit and avoid default, but it was not clear if the spending cuts were deep enough to stave off a credit rating downgrade. Full Story | |
 BEIJING (Reuters) - China's media are curbing combative reporting of a high-speed train disaster after what observers said were orders from the ruling Communist Party's propaganda arm to stop criticism that has echoed public outrage over the tragedy. | |
| USGS reports 6.8 magnitude earthquake off Papua New Guinea Sun,31 Jul 2011 05:01 PM PDT Reuters - SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A strong earthquake of magnitude 6.8 struck off the coast of Papua New Guinea on Monday, the United States Geological Survey said, but no tsunami warning was issued. Full Story | |
| Germany requests U.N. council meeting on Syria Sun,31 Jul 2011 04:28 PM PDT Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Germany has requested that the U.N. Security Council meet on Monday to discuss the worsening violence in Syria, a spokesman for the German mission at the United Nations said. Full Story | |
 AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrians began the Muslim Ramadan fast in somber mood on Monday after troops stormed into Hama, scene of a 1982 massacre, in one of the bloodiest days in a five-month-old uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. | |
| Snapshot: Lawmakers close to deal on debt Sun,31 Jul 2011 04:04 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Here is what is happening on Sunday as U.S. lawmakers and the White House race to broker a deal to raise the country's $14.3 trillion borrowing ceiling by Tuesday's deadline and avoid default on obligations. Full Story | |
 BENGHAZI (Reuters) - Rebel forces fought gunmen loyal to Muammar Gaddafi in eastern Libya on Sunday in the latest incident to undermine the insurgents' grip in territory they hold. | |
 RABAT (Reuters) - Thousands of Moroccans marched on Sunday to press the Arab world's longest-ruling dynasty to relinquish more of its sweeping powers and stamp out corruption. | |
| Syrian forces kill 3 at pro-Hama protest in south Sun,31 Jul 2011 01:26 PM PDT Reuters - AMMAN (Reuters) - Security forces shot dead three demonstrators outside the main mosque in the southern Syrian city of Deraa on Sunday, two local activists said, targeting a protest held over a tank assault on the city of Hama launched earlier in the day.Full Story | |
| Snapshot: Lawmakers close to deal on debt Sun,31 Jul 2011 11:57 AM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Here is what is happening on Sunday as lawmakers and the White House race to broker a deal to raise the country's $14.3 trillion borrowing cap by Tuesday's deadline and avoid default on obligations. Full Story | |
| Western Mountain battle shows complexities of Libya conflict Sun,31 Jul 2011 11:34 AM PDT Reuters - GHAZAIA, Libya (Reuters) - Rebels who seized the government-held town of Ghazaia in Libya's Western Mountain in a new offensive describe themselves as "liberators," but there were no cheers when they rolled in. Full Story | |
 KABUL (Reuters) - The top U.S. military officer said Sunday Afghan militants of the anti-American Haqqani network were finding it harder to move into Afghanistan but warned that their safe havens in Pakistan still posed a risk to the decade-old war effort. | |
| Libyan rebels inch closer to Zlitan breakthrough Sun,31 Jul 2011 10:55 AM PDT Reuters - ZLITAN, Libya (Reuters) - Libyan rebel fighters from Misrata have pushed closer to entering the coastal town of Zlitan after 48 hours of fierce fighting in which at least 27 fighters have been killed on the frontline. Full Story | |
| Obama says U.S. appalled by Syria brutality Sun,31 Jul 2011 10:44 AM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Sunday he was appalled by the Syrian government's use of violence against its people in the city of Hama and promised to work with others to isolate President Bashar al-Assad. Full Story | |
| Yemen's Saleh calls for Ramadan talks to end crisis Sun,31 Jul 2011 10:08 AM PDT Reuters - SANAA (Reuters) - Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh called on Sunday for dialogue with his opponents during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan to help resolve a crisis over demands for his removal which has paralysed Yemen and confounded efforts at mediation. Full Story | |
| Afghan media watchdog seeks probe of reporter death Sun,31 Jul 2011 08:13 AM PDT Reuters - KABUL (Reuters) - An Afghan journalists' group called Sunday for a government investigation into the death of a reporter killed when suicide bombers stormed government buildings in south Afghanistan. Full Story | |
 KIEV, July 31 (Reuters) - Rescue work ended Sunday at two Ukrainian coal mines where accidents killed 37, and the former Soviet republic held a national day of mourning. | |
| Nail bombs injure 42 protesters in Damascus: report Sun,31 Jul 2011 07:22 AM PDT Reuters - AMMAN (Reuters) - At least 42 people were injured Sunday when Syrian forces threw nail bombs at a demonstration in the Damascus suburb of Harasta, where the army's ultra loyalist Fourth Division had deployed to subdue pro-democracy protests, two residents said. Full Story | |
| Factbox: Syria's city of Hama, site of new assault Sun,31 Jul 2011 06:47 AM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - Syrian tanks stormed Hama on Sunday to crush demonstrations against President Bashar al-Assad's rule. Full Story | |
| German security official warns of Breivik copycats Sun,31 Jul 2011 06:46 AM PDT Reuters - BERLIN (Reuters) - The recent mass killing in Norway could easily serve as a blueprint for other anti-Muslim militants, one of Germany's top security officials warned in a magazine interview Sunday. Full Story | |
| Iran to announce U.S. hikers verdict in "coming days": report Sun,31 Jul 2011 05:41 AM PDT Reuters - TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran said verdicts on American hikers detained on charges of espionage will be announced in the coming days, its Arabic language al-Alam television quoted a judiciary official as saying Sunday. Full Story | |
| Police kill 4 after blasts, attacks in China's west Sun,31 Jul 2011 05:40 AM PDT Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - Police shot dead four "rioters" in China's far west on Sunday after at least three people, including a policeman, were killed in the latest in a series attacks in the region this month, the state-run news agency Xinhua reported. Full Story | |
| Saudi lingerie shops drag feet on deadline to hire women Sun,31 Jul 2011 05:38 AM PDT Reuters - JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Saudi lingerie stores are dragging their feet on an official deadline to avoid embarrassing female shoppers by replacing their male sales clerks with women, saying the change will create staff problems, lose them customers and cost them money. Full Story | |
 LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A suicide attacker killed 12 Afghan policemen and a child in the southern city of Lashkar Gah Sunday when he detonated a car bomb, the country's Ministry of Interior said. | |
| France to keep up pressure on Libya: defence minister Sun,31 Jul 2011 04:55 AM PDT Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - France's defense minister vowed on Saturday to keep up its aerial bombardment of Muammar Gaddafi's troops in Libya as it readies to withdraw the conflict's only aircraft carrier for maintenance. Full Story | |
 MOSCOW (Reuters) - At least eight people died and one person was missing Sunday after a riverboat collided with a barge and sank in the Moscow River, a spokeswoman for Russia's Emergencies Ministry said. | |
 TEHRAN - (Reuters) - An Iranian woman blinded with acid by her suitor for turning down his marriage proposal spared him at the last minute from being blinded too as punishment for his crime, Iranian media reported on Sunday. | |
| Taliban leaders may take Ramadan break: U.S. military Sun,31 Jul 2011 02:51 AM PDT Reuters - KABUL (Reuters) - The U.S. military is waiting to see whether some Taliban leaders take a break during August for Ramadan, crossing over the border into Pakistan after several weeks of high profile attacks. Full Story | |
| Warlords, government capacity threaten Afghan mining: watchdog Sat,30 Jul 2011 10:43 PM PDT Reuters -  KABUL (Reuters) - A giant Afghan iron ore deposit may provide hope for the prosperity of the country, but the Afghan government is not able to ensure the mine is managed properly and profiteering warlords could spark further violence, a graft watchdog said on Sunday. | |
 NOWSHERA/MEHMOOD KOT, Pakistan (Reuters) - A year after deadly floods swept through the Pakistani town of Nowshera resident Imtiaz Ali is seething with anger as he struggles to rebuild his life with almost no help from the government. |
