Bosnian leadership takes shape, pledging reform
SARAJEVO (Reuters) – A political bloc in Bosnia edged towards a new national government on Tuesday committed to a raft of reforms backed by the European Union in an effort to unblock the country’s stalled bid to join the bloc.
Iran says has no information on alleged purchase of nuclear equipment
ANKARA (Reuters) – Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation said on Tuesday it had no information about the illicit procurement of equipment for the Arak research reactor as alleged in a report by a U.N. panel of experts and based on a briefing by a member co…
Zimbabwe’s Mugabe fires deputy, seven ministers
HARARE (Reuters) – Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe has fired his deputy, Joice Mujuru, and seven government ministers, his cabinet secretary said on Tuesday, in the latest twist in a power struggle over the choice of his successor.
Strict new Japan secrets law to take effect amid protests
TOKYO (Reuters) – Waving banners and beating drums, hundreds of Japanese took to the streets of Tokyo to protest a strict new state-secrets law taking effect on Wednesday that critics charge will help conceal government misdeeds and limit press freedom…
Rattled by wartime rockets, Israel plans alternate airport
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – An airport planned for Israel’s southern desert is being billed as a wartime alternative to Tel Aviv, which was briefly shunned by most foreign carriers in July because of Palestinian rocket fire from Gaza.
Kosovo lawmakers endorse former exile to lead coalition of rivals
PRISTINA (Reuters) – Lawmakers in Kosovo endorsed former minister-in-exile Isa Mustafa as prime minister on Tuesday, tasking him with consolidating the young Balkan nation’s independence and attracting foreign investors.
Apathy biggest bar to ending child slavery: Nobel prize winner
OSLO (Reuters) – Apathy is the biggest obstacle to eliminating forced child labor and the world needs more secular education to reduce intolerance, Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi said on Tuesday.
Egyptian judge jails democracy activist for three years for ‘insulting court’
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian pro-democracy activist Ahmed Douma was sentenced to three years in jail on Tuesday after he accused the judge of bias and denounced his trial on charges of violence against the state as political.
U.N. Syria envoy denies Aleppo truce plan would benefit Assad
GAZIANTEP, Turkey (Reuters) – The U.N. peace envoy to Syria on Tuesday rejected suggestions that a proposed truce in the northern city of Aleppo would play into President Bashar al-Assad’s hands, saying it was a stepping stone in a political process an…
Bomb blast kills nine in bus in southern Philippines
Manila (Reuters) – An explosion ripped through a commuter bus in the southern Philippines on Tuesday, killing nine people and wounding 17, security officials said, blaming the attack on a splinter group of Muslim rebels.