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Syria strike kills children amid push for war crimes probe

An air strike on a rebel town near Damascus on Monday killed 13 women and children, a watchdog said, fuelling growing international calls for a war crimes probe into the 22-month Syrian conflict. Full story

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Afghans to decide on immunity for US troops: Karzai

Afghan elders will decide on the key issue of whether American soldiers remaining in the country after 2014 will be granted immunity from prosecution, the president, Hamid Karzai, said on Monday. The US president, Barack Obama, warned... Full story

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Lanka lawyers fight impeachment of CJ

Sri Lanka’s lawyers Monday announced a legal challenge to the impeachment of the chief justice and vowed to keep up a battle for judicial independence. The Lawyers’ Collective, which includes most of... Full story

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Mixed signals on ailing Chavez sparks confusion in Venezuela

Mixed signals from officials in Venezuela sparked confusion on Monday over the condition of cancer-stricken president Hugo Chavez, under treatment in a Cuban hospital for over a month. Full story

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Chinese media urges action on air pollution

Chinese media said on Monday the government had to take urgent action to tackle air pollution, which has blanketed parts of the country at dangerous levels in recent days, and one newspaper called for a re-think... Full story

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Millions flock to Ganges for world’s biggest festival

Millions of Hindu pilgrims led by naked ash-covered holy men streamed into the sacred river Ganges on Monday, for a record-breaking start to the world’s biggest religious festival. Full story

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William, Kate’s baby due in July

Prince William and his wife Catherine’s first child is due in July, St James’ Palace announced on Monday, adding that the mother-to-be is feeling better following her hospitalisation last month. Full story

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Cleric leads tens of thousands towards Islamabad

Tens of thousands of Pakistanis inched towards Islamabad Monday, in a protest march led by an influential cleric calling for revolution but accused by the government of trying to sow political chaos ahead of elections. Full story

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Pakistan Shias bury dead, four days after massive attack

Embattled Shia Muslims Monday buried victims of the deadliest single attack on their community in Pakistan, ending a four-day protest to demand protection after the provincial government was sacked. Full story

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Season’s first snow hits Tokyo, paralyses traffic

The winter’s first snowfall blanketed the Japanese capital Tokyo and its environs on Monday, paralysing traffic and stranding young people taking part in traditional coming-of-age ceremonies. Full story

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Mali Islamists press south, vow to strike back at France

Islamist forces on Monday launched a fresh attack in Mali’s government-held south and vowed to strike ‘at the heart’ of France to avenge a fierce military offensive against them. Full story

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Obama has no moral centre: Chomsky

Linguist and activist Noam Chomsky slammed US president Barack Obama for using aerial drones to kill suspected terrorists, reports Press TV (Iran’s television network). In a video published by Al Jazeera English... Full story

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Kachin rebels say three dead in Myanmar strike

Kachin rebels in Myanmar said three civilians were killed and six wounded Monday in the first government attack on their stronghold, as fighting escalated in the country’s last active civil war. Full story

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Urgent CO2 cuts may spare millions hardship: report

Tens of millions of people may be spared droughts and floods by 2050 if Earth-warming carbon emissions peak in 2016 rather than 2030, scientists said on Sunday. Climate researchers in Britain and Germany... Full story

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4 Chinese workers among 9 abducted in Darfur

Armed men have kidnapped four Chinese nationals and five Sudanese workers engaged in road construction in Sudan’s strife-ridden Darfur region, the official SUNA news agency reported on Monday. Full story

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Star witness arrives for Berlusconi sex trial

The exotic dancer at the centre of a sex trial against Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi arrived to testify for the first time in court on Monday but a news report said the billionaire’s lawyers may try to suspend the proceedings... Full story

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Support for Japan’s new PM rises to 68pc: poll

Public support for the cabinet of Japan’s new prime minister Shinzo Abe rose to 68 per cent this month, from 65 per cent shortly after he took office in December, an opinion poll showed on Monday. Full story

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Tunisians take to streets two years after Ben Ali’s fall

Thousands of Tunisians protested against their Islamist-led government on Monday, exactly two years after president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s overthrow in a popular revolt that inspired others across the Arab world. Full story

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