Syrian forces kill ‘hundreds’ near Damascus

Middle East

• U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel arrived in Israel Sunday to close a $10 billion arms with Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
• Egyptian Justice Minister Ahmed Mekky resigned on Sunday to protest President Mohamed Morsy’s “assault” on the judiciary.
• Bahrain held its Formula One Grand Prix race on Sunday despite violent anti-government protests.

Africa

• Sudan is expected to begin peace talks on Tuesday with the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North.
• Fighting between Islamic extremists and the Nigerian military over the weekend left at least 185 people dead in northeastern Nigeria.
• Gunmen shot dead Mohamed Abdullahi Haji, an editor at Somalia’s state-run news agency.

Asia

• South Korea’s foreign minister canceled a trip to Japan after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the controversial Yasukuni shrine on Sunday.
• Two more people died in China from the H7B9 bird flu, bringing the death toll up to 20.
• Human Rights Watch on Monday accused authorities in Myanmar of participating in the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims last year.

Americas

• Horacio Cartes, a tobacco magnate who has never before held political office, won Paraguay’s presidential election Sunday with 46 percent of the vote.
• A court in Brazil sentenced 23 police officers to 156 years in prison for their involvement in a 1992 prison massacre.
• Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro reshuffled his cabinet on Sunday, tapping two allies of late President Hugo Chavez for top positions.

Europe

• Italian President Giorgio Napolitano on Saturday won a second term in office, becoming the first Italian president to be re-elected.
• Thousands of people rallied against gay marriage in Paris on Sunday ahead of a controversial vote to make it legal.
• The European Commission on Monday recommended that the EU begin membership talks with Serbia, following the country’s historic accord with Kosovo.