Afghan government cancels property deal with convicted banker
KABUL (Reuters) – The Afghan government has canceled a multimillion dollar real estate contract with the former head of the failed Kabul Bank, who was sentenced to 15 years in jail for embezzlement last year, after an outcry over his involvement in the…
Sri Lankan charged with new assassination plot in Maldives
MALE/COLOMBO (Reuters) – Police in the Maldives have charged a Sri Lankan man with planning a sniper attack on President Abdulla Yameen just weeks after a blast ripped through his boat in an alleged assassination attempt, officials said on Saturday.
Coalition carries out 20 air strikes in Iraq, Syria – U.S. military
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. and coalition warplanes carried out 20 air strikes against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria on Friday, primarily hitting targets around the Iraqi towns of Ramadi and Sinjar, the U.S. military said on Saturday.
Magnitude 5.3 quake jolts Venezuela’s west, one dead in rockfall
CARACAS (Reuters) – A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck mountainous western Venezuela in the early hours of Saturday, knocking out power in some areas, damaging some buildings and triggering rockfalls that killed one man, authorities said.
Row over refugees’ status reopens divisions in German government
BERLIN (Reuters) – Just two days after resolving a coalition row over how to handle a record influx of refugees, Germany’s ruling parties are embroiled in another spat over whether to limit the asylum rights of refugees from Syria.
Catalan pro-secession parties push for changes to region’s debt
MADRID (Reuters) – Pro-independence parties in Catalonia, which are gearing up for a vote in their local parliament on whether to begin a process to split from Spain, have put forward a motion calling for a partial renegotiation of the region’s debt to…
Bombs across Baghdad kill nine people: sources
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Bombs in and around Baghdad killed at least nine people on Saturday, police and medical sources said, highlighting security challenges that include Islamist militancy and sectarian conflict.
Morocco stands fast on Western Sahara autonomy plan
RABAT (Reuters) – Morocco’s king said he will offer no more than autonomy for the disputed Western Sahara, a few days after United Nations chief called for “true negotiations” to end the four-decade deadlock over the region.
Portugal’s president tries to tame political crisis
LISBON (Reuters) – Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva, who once noted that in his job silence was worth its weight in gold, faces what could be his toughest task as he tries to resolve a political crisis.
Burundi opposition fear attacks as Nkurunziza’s disarmament deadline arrives
NAIROBI (Reuters) – An opposition leader in Burundi voiced fears on Saturday of targeted killings by government forces as President Pierre Nkurunziza’s deadline to give up firearms or risk being “dealt with as enemies of the nation” arrived.
