Catalonia’s acting head to step down as pro-independence leader: local media
MADRID (Reuters) – Catalonia’s acting head Artur Mas will step down as the pro-independence leader of the Spanish region in order to avoid new regional elections, local media said on Saturday.
South Africa’s Zuma wants more blacks in boardrooms, gears up for local polls
RUSTENBURG, South Africa (Reuters) – South Africa’s private sector must change faster to give blacks a larger stake in business, President Jacob Zuma told a rally on Saturday, urging the ruling party to help create more jobs in a local government elect…
Mexican drug lord ‘El Chapo’ captured, sent back to prison he escaped from
LOS MOCHIS, Mexico (Reuters) – Mexico recaptured the world’s top drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman in a pre-dawn shootout and chase through drains on Friday, returning him to the same prison he escaped from six months ago, in a boost for the beleague…
Saudi Arabia may take more measures against Iran in execution row: foreign minister
ABU DHABI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia may take further measures against Iran after cutting ties with its regional rival this week, the Saudi foreign minister said on Saturday, in a major row over the kingdom’s execution of a Shi’ite Muslim cleric.
Turkish army says 18 Kurdish militants killed in southeast
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) – Turkish security forces have killed 18 Kurdish militants in southeast Turkey, the military said on Saturday, in the latest clashes to blight a region still reeling from the collapse of a two-year ceasefire last summer.
Air strike in Syria kills at least 39 people in rebel-held town: monitor
BEIRUT (Reuters) – An air strike killed at least 39 people in a Syrian rebel-held town in the northwest on Saturday when it struck a court house and an adjacent prison, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
Aid to be sent to besieged Syrian areas on Monday: sources
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Humanitarian aid will be delivered to the besieged Syrian town of Madaya and two blockaded villages in the northwest on Monday according to an agreement finalised on Saturday, two sources familiar with the details said.
Officer and soldier shot dead in Cairo suburb attack
CAIRO (Reuters) – Armed men shot dead a police officer and a soldier on Saturday while they were in their car in the Giza area, on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt’s state news agency said.
Yemen government says peace talks may be postponed beyond mid-January
CAIRO (Reuters) – Yemen’s Saudi-backed government said on Saturday that peace talks due to be held on Jan. 14 would most probably be postponed beyond that date.
Iran complains to U.N. about Saudi ‘provocations’
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran’s foreign minister has complained to the United Nations about Saudi Arabia’s “provocations” toward Tehran, as a diplomatic crisis between the region’s two major powers entered its second week.
