Suu Kyi to lead new effort on restive Rakhine State’
Reuters, Yangon
Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi will lead a new effort to bring peace and development to Rakhine State where violence between majority Buddhists and minority Muslims in recent years has cast a cloud over progress on democratic reforms.
More than 100 people were killed in violence in the western state in 2012, and some 125,000 Rohingya Muslims, who are stateless, took refuge in camps where their movements are severely restricted.
Cameron, London mayor bury hatchet for pro-EU rally
AFP, London
Prime Minister David Cameron put aside recent animosity with London Mayor Sadiq Khan to make a joint call Monday for Britain to stay in the European Union, as personal attacks from within his own party intensified.
Cameron told a campaign event in London that he and the new Labour mayor backed Britain’s EU membership because “we love our country and we want our country to be the best it possibly can”, just weeks after accusing Khan of repeatedly appearing with Muslim extremists.
White House back to normal after security lockdown
Reuters, Washington
A brief, partial lockdown at the White House was lifted on Monday after a metal object tossed over the fence was tested and determined not to be dangerous, the U.S. Secret Service said.
President Barack Obama was at the White House during the incident. An individual threw the object over the north fence of the complex, Secret Service spokesman Shawn Holtzclaw said in an emailed statement.
Taliban kill 16 Afghan bus passengers
AFP, Kunduz
The Taliban killed at least 16 people and kidnapped dozens of others on Tuesday after pulling them from buses in northern Afghanistan, officials said, in the latest assault since the insurgents named a new leader last week. The Taliban have so far not commented on the incident in Aliabad district in the volatile province of Kunduz, where the insurgents briefly overran the provincial capital in a stunning military victory last year.
