ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia said on Monday that the 30 Christians shown being shot and beheaded in Libya on a video purportedly made by Islamic State were its citizens.

EDINBURGH/LONDON (Reuters) - The Scottish National Party set out plans for higher public spending on Monday, aiming to reverse five years of austerity measures as it goes into a close-run UK election with hopes of winning the power to broker the next British government.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank is confident that euro zone growth will become more robust and that inflation will return to its medium-term target "without undue delay," ECB President Mario Draghi said.

SANAA (Reuters) - An air strike on a Scud missile base in the Yemeni capital Sanaa caused a big explosion that blew out windows in homes, killing seven civilians and wounding dozens, medical sources told Reuters.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday that he was ready to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of an Asian-African summit in Jakarta this week if the chance arises.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Labour Party is 2 points ahead of Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives before a national election on May 7, according to a Populus Poll published in the Financial Times on Monday.

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Asia needs a new military balance that is not led by one major power, Indonesia's top general told Reuters on Monday, as the region becomes increasingly concerned over China's rapid expansion in the South China Sea.

BERLIN (Reuters) - A former intelligence officer for the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was the mastermind behind Islamic State's takeover of northern Syria, according to a report by Der Spiegel that is based on documents uncovered by the German magazine.

BERLIN/HAMBURG (Reuters) - Volkswagen Chairman Ferdinand Piech's iron grip on the German carmaker has been severely weakened following a dramatic confrontation with senior board members last week that nearly resulted in a push to oust him, sources told Reuters.

LONDON (Reuters) - Tesco , the world's third biggest retailer, said big businesses could be driven from Britain by the uncertainty surrounding a referendum on European Union membership, which the governing Conservatives have promised to hold if re-elected.