Police, protesters fight running battles in Kosovo
PRISTINA (Reuters) – Riot police fought running battles with protesters hurling rocks and petrol bombs in Kosovo’s capital Pristina on Tuesday in the worst unrest since the former Serbian province seceded in 2008.
Japan vows to work with Jordan to secure hostage release
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan has vowed to work with Jordan to secure the release of a Japanese journalist held by Islamic State militants after the killing last week of another Japanese captive, but it reiterated that it would not give in to terrorism.
Renzi-Berlusconi pact under fire as Italian vote reform progresses
ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s Senate approved Matteo Renzi’s electoral reforms on Tuesday, giving the prime minister a boost as he faces criticism from the left of his party over his pact with Silvio Berlusconi.
Nigeria will not delay elections: commission
ABUJA (Reuters) – The head of Nigeria’s electoral commission said on Tuesday the country will hold a presidential election as scheduled on Feb. 14, rejecting a call from one of the president’s advisors to delay them.
Ex-KGB spy Litvinenko told UK police Putin ordered his death
LONDON (Reuters) – Ex-KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko, who died three months after drinking tea poisoned with a radioactive isotope, told British police that Russian President Vladimir Putin was personally behind his killing, an inquiry heard on Tuesday.
China says 15 Communist Party leaders in Tibet guilty of graft
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese anti-graft authorities found 15 senior Communist Party officials in Tibet guilty of corruption last year and punished them, the state-owned China News Service said on Tuesday.
Africans may mandate regional force against Boko Haram this week
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – The African Union (AU) might grant a mandate as early as this week for a regional military force to combat Islamist Boko Haram militants, a vital step towards securing U.N. Security Council backing, a diplomat said on Tuesday.
Two rockets from Syria strike Israeli-occupied Golan: Israeli military
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – At least two rockets from Syria hit the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday and Israel returned fire, the military said, nine days after an Israeli air strike in Syria killed an Iranian general and several Lebanese Hezbollah…
Dominican Republic moves to ease abortion ban, challenges remain: rights group
BOGOTA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A presidential decision to ease the Dominican Republic’s ban on abortion is a landmark victory for women’s rights, but ensuring women can access legal and potentially life-saving abortions remains a challenge, a ri…
Houthis have released kidnapped Yemen aide, sources say
SANAA (Reuters) – Yemen’s Houthi movement has freed the presidential chief of staff, whom it seized on Jan. 17 during a power struggle with then President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, Houthi official Ali al-Quhoom and two government officials said on Tuesda…
