Putin blames Ukraine’s ‘criminal orders’ for new fighting
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed “criminal orders” by Ukrainian leaders on Friday for a surge in fighting in east Ukraine, and Russian-backed separatists struck a bellicose tone in ruling out seeking more peace talks.
Tunisia premier-designate forms new government without Islamists
TUNIS (Reuters) – Tunisian Prime Minister-designate Habib Essid said on Friday he had formed a government without any cabinet posts for moderate Islamists after negotiations among secular party Nidaa Tounes and other smaller partners in parliament.
Leader of Libyan Islamists Ansar al-Sharia dies of wounds
BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) – The leader of Libyan Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia has died of wounds suffered when fighting pro-government troops several months ago, his family and officials said on Friday.
Spain says to negotiate increase of U.S. troops at air base
MADRID (Reuters) – Spain will start talks with the United States about further increasing the number of U.S. troops at an air base in the south of the country, Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said on Friday.
U.S.-led coalition hits Islamic State with 25 air strikes: task force
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States and its coalition partners have launched another round of air strikes against Islamic State, conducting 25 strikes since early Thursday.
Lungu keeps slim lead in Zambia presidential poll with 48.7 percent votes
LUSAKA (Reuters) – Zambia’s ruling party presidential candidate Edgar Lungu maintained a slim lead over his closest rival Hakainde Hichilema after votes from about 80 percent of constituencies were counted, the electoral commission said on Friday.
French court approves stripping nationality of Franco-Moroccan jihadist
PARIS (Reuters) – France’s top court ruled on Friday it was possible to strip the nationality of a Franco-Moroccan man naturalized as French who was convicted on terrorism charges, paving the way for more dual nationality jihadists to lose their passpo…
France’s message to Davos: do your part to fight terrorism
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) – The world’s biggest businesses must do their part to fight terrorism by taking action against trafficking and money laundering, French President Francois Hollande said when arriving at the World Economic Forum in Davos on…
North Korea urges South to lift sanctions before talks can begin
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea on Friday demanded the lifting of sanctions, imposed by South Korea after a 2010 attack on one of its naval vessels, as a condition for resuming dialogue.
Outgoing U.N. envoy laments scant human rights gains in Cambodia
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) – A U.N. envoy paid a final official visit to Cambodia on Friday and noted scant progress during his six-year mandate, warning the government its people were no longer afraid to defend their human rights.
