Polish sailors kidnapped off Nigerian coast freed
WARSAW (Reuters) – The Polish crew of a cargo vessel kidnapped last month off the Nigerian coast are safe and on their way home, Poland’s Prime Minister Beata Szydlo said on Tuesday.
Rift between Rousseff and VP aggravates Brazil political crisis
BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazilian Vice President Michel Temer has further distanced himself from the president with a letter of complaints, moving into a position from which his allies say he can make a full break from her troubled government or lead the …
Machine guns, no-fly zone guard pope’s opening of Holy Year
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of Roman Catholics backed up for blocks at the Vatican on Tuesday for the strictest security checks in living memory as Pope Francis began a Holy Year with a call to set aside “fear and dread”.
Syria’s fractured opposition seeks elusive unity against Assad
RIYADH (Reuters) – Syria’s rebel and opposition groups are trying to forge a common stance over negotiations to end the civil war but the absence of some prominent activists and a main Kurdish force from their meeting in Riyadh shows that unity remains…
Dozens reported killed as rival Afghan Taliban groups clash
HERAT, Afghanistan (Reuters) – More than 50 people have been killed and dozens more wounded in renewed fighting between rival Taliban factions in Shindand district near the western Afghan city of Herat, a local police spokesman said on Tuesday.
Militants in Syria attract 31,000 foreign fighters: ex-UK spy chief
LONDON (Reuters) – Syria has become the pre-eminent global incubator for a new generation of militants after Islamist groups more than doubled their recruitment of foreign fighters to as much as 31,000 over the past 18 months, according to a former Bri…
Lebanese politician casts doubt on presidential deal
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Talks aimed at ending Lebanon’s 18-month-long presidential vacuum are not going smoothly, a Christian leader said on Tuesday, casting doubt on the outlook for a power-sharing proposal aimed at reviving the paralyzed government.
Kerry says aiming for New York Syria meeting on December 18
PARIS (Reuters) – Countries involved in the Syrian peace process are set to meet in New York on Dec. 18 but the talks may hinge on efforts to unite Syrian opposition groups in the coming days, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday.
Al Qaeda video shows three men purportedly confessing to spying, one shot dead
NOUAKCHOTT (Reuters) – Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) released a video on Monday showing three men purportedly confessing to spying for the Mauritanian and French military and then one being taken out of a pick-up truck in the desert and shot i…
Egypt sees tourist returns down 10 percent after plane crash, eyes gradual recovery
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s tourism revenues in 2015 will be at least 10 percent below last year’s after a Russian plane crash prompted Moscow and London to suspend flights, and authorities are now working to restore confidence, the tourism minister said…
