Syria peace talks likely next week
GENEVA • Syria peace talks will likely resume in Geneva on April 11, but regime negotiators will arrive only several days later after the completion of parliamentary elections in the country, the United Nations said yesterday.
UN mediator Staffan de Mistura had previously said he wanted to restart the talks on April 9, but noted that there was flexibility in the timeline.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Uproar over Muslim handshake ruling
GENEVA • Male Muslim students at a school in northern Switzerland will no longer have to shake hands with their female teachers following a ruling that on Monday caused an uproar in the country.
A school in the northern municipality of Therwil, in the canton of Basel, reached the controversial decision after two male students, aged 14 and 15 years, complained that the Swiss custom of shaking hands with the teacher is counter to their religious beliefs if the teacher is a woman.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Party stampede charges rejected
BERLIN • A German court yesterday threw out criminal charges stemming from a catastrophic stampede at a Love Parade techno street party in 2010 that killed 21 people and injured hundreds.
The ruling by the regional court in the western city of Duisburg for now halts efforts to prosecute those who planned the event over its chaotic crowd management.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE