Iran expands regional ’empire’ ahead of nuclear deal
BEIRUT (Reuters) – With Iran moving closer to a deal with world powers to constrain its nuclear program in return for an end to sanctions, Arab analysts and leaders are focused more on how Tehran is working unconstrained to tighten its grip on Arab sta…
Libya could agree on unity government leaders this week: U.N. envoy
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Libya’s warring groups could agree this week on the leaders of a national unity government to try to overcome the conflict in the North African country, but it will not be easy, a U.N. envoy said on Monday.
Mother of captured Ukraine pilot lobbies Germany to help free daughter
BERLIN (Reuters) – The mother of captured Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko sought German support on Monday in her campaign to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin into ordering the release of her daughter who has become a national hero in Ukraine.
Britain to investigate Sharia courts, crack down on extremist preachers
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain will introduce measures to counter Islamist extremism, including an investigation into Sharia courts and a crackdown on incendiary preachers, if Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservatives win May’s election, Home Secretary …
Lee Kuan Yew, founding father of modern Singapore, dies at 91
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s first prime minister, died on Monday aged 91, triggering a flood of tributes to the man who oversaw the tiny city-state’s rapid rise from a British colonial backwater to a global trade and financial cente…
Senegal jails ex-president’s son for 6 years for corruption
DAKAR (Reuters) – A special court in Senegal sentenced the son of former president Abdoulaye Wade on Monday to six years in prison for corruption and ordered him to pay a 138 billion CFA franc ($228 million) fine, dashing his hopes of competing in elec…
Turkey’s first nuclear plant delayed, ‘not ready before 2022’
ANKARA/ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey’s first nuclear power plant is unlikely to be ready before 2022, energy officials said on Monday of the $20-billion project that has been beset by regulatory hurdles and complicated by Russia’s financial woes.
Yemeni forces fight off Shi’ite militia heading for Aden: sources
ADEN (Reuters) – Soldiers loyal to Yemeni president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi fought off dozens of Shi’ite Houthi militiamen heading for the Sunni leader’s seat of power in the southern city of Aden, militia sources and a local official told Reuters.
Erdogan’s lobbying exposes fractures in Turkey’s ruling party
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Anyone watching the multitude of Turkish television stations broadcasting President Tayyip Erdogan’s speeches on an almost daily basis might be forgiven for thinking he was the one standing in a June election.
Indonesian president says China’s main claim in South China Sea has no legal basis
JAKARTA/TOKYO (Reuters) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo said one of China’s main claims to the majority of the South China Sea had no legal basis in international law, but Jakarta wanted to remain an “honest broker” in one of Asia’s most thorny terr…
