Venezuela urged at U.N. to seek national dialogue, free inmates
GENEVA (Reuters) – Paraguay led nearly 30 countries on Thursday in calling at the United Nations for Venezuela to engage in a national dialogue with the opposition to preserve peace and security, and to release political prisoners.
U.S. expects donor conference to pledge $3 billion a year for Afghanistan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – An international conference on Afghanistan in Brussels next week is expected to pledge over $3 billion a year in development support to the Central Asian nation up to the end of 2020, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday.
Algeria army kills five Islamist fighters: defense ministry
ALGIERS (Reuters) – Algerian troops killed five armed Islamist militants and seized weapons, munitions and food supplies on Thursday in an ongoing operation east of Algiers, the defense ministry said.
Air strikes kill 18 Islamic State ‘leaders’ in last month: U.S.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Air strikes by the United States and its allies have killed 18 Islamic State “leaders” in the last 30 days, 13 of them in Mosul, the group’s de facto Iraqi capital, a U.S. military spokesman said on Thursday.
Iraq PM tells Kurds not to use Mosul battle to expand territory
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi asked Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani not to exploit the war on Islamic State to expand the Kurds’ territory, according to a government statement published after their meeting on Thursday in Baghd…
France’s Ayrault says Donald Trump’s foreign policy ‘very confused’
PARIS (Reuters) – France’s foreign minister took a swipe at U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Thursday calling his foreign policy objectives “confused” and warning that Paris could not forget remarks made after militant attacks in …
Putin, Merkel discuss Ukraine, agree on future contacts in Normandy format: Kremlin
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the Ukraine crisis during a phone call on Thursday and agreed on the schedule of future contacts in the Normandy format, the Kremlin said in a statement….
Pope Francis to visit Colombia in first quarter of 2017: president
BOGOTA (Reuters) – Pope Francis will visit Colombia in the first quarter of next year, President Juan Manuel Santos said on Thursday, days after signing a peace deal with Marxist rebels which the pontiff has actively backed.
South Africa’s Zuma orders ministers to tackle university ‘mayhem’
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma has ordered his ministers to tackle student protests that have shut down most universities, a cabinet spokesman said on Thursday, amid concerns over the impact of the disruption on state fina…
Erdogan says to extend Turkey’s emergency rule, rounds on rating agencies
ISTANBUL/ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan suggested on Thursday that emergency rule could be extended beyond a year and rounded on rating agencies after Moody’s cut Turkey to “junk” status, helping send the lira to its weakest in alm…
