Kazakh leader seals power with stability before democratic reform
ALMATY (Reuters) – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev was set to renew his 26-year grip on power on Sunday, offering the multi-ethnic Central Asian state economic and social stability in return for what rights groups call systematic suppression of o…
Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists trade accusations as Minsk deal frays
KIEV/MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Ukrainian military and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine traded accusations on Saturday, reviving concerns that a peace deal signed in Minsk in February may collapse, although monitors said the violations were still…
Chile volcano ash cloud reaches Brazil; some flights canceled
SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Ash from the Chilean volcano Calbuco, which erupted without warning this week, reached as far as southern Brazil on Saturday and prompted some airlines to cancel flights to the capitals of Chile, Argentina and Uruguay.
Islamist fighters seize Syria’s Jisr al-Shughour, army says redeploys
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Islamist insurgents including al-Qaeda’s wing in Syria, Nusra Front, captured the northwestern Syrian town of Jisr al-Shughour on Saturday, for the first time in the four-year-old conflict.
Thousands gather at dawn ceremony to mark Gallipoli centenary
GALLIPOLI PENINSULA, Turkey (Reuters) – Leaders and dignitaries from Australia, New Zealand and Turkey led thousands at dawn ceremonies on Turkey’s Gallipoli peninsula on Saturday to mark the 100th anniversary of a World War One battle that helped shap…
Togolese leader set to extend rule in presidential election
LOME (Reuters) – Togo voted on Saturday in an election expected to give President Faure Gnassingbe a third term in office that could extend his family’s grip on power to more than half a century.
Germany says will deny entry to some Russian Night Wolves bikers
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany will block some members of an ultra-nationalist Russian motorcycle club from entering the country, government sources said on Saturday, a day after Poland also announced an entry ban for the group which is blacklisted by the …
UK Conservatives’ lead narrows to 1 point over Labour in Opinium poll
LONDON (Reuters) – David Cameron’s Conservative Party saw its lead in an opinion poll narrow on Saturday, with a survey for the Observer newspaper giving it a 1 percentage point lead over the opposition Labour Party ahead of the May 7 election.
U.N. chief appoints Mauritanian diplomat as new Yemen envoy
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon named a Mauritanian diplomat on Saturday as his envoy to Yemen, charged with trying to broker peace in the Arabian Peninsula country.
U.S., allies conduct 15 air strikes in Syria, Iraq: military
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S.-led forces targeted Islamic State militants in Syria with four air strikes from Friday to Saturday morning and conducted 11 strikes against the group in Iraq, the U.S. military said.
