Belgian police storm apartment to end Ghent siege
GHENT, Belgium (Reuters) – Belgian armed police stormed an apartment in the western city of Ghent on Monday to end a siege after reports that gunmen had taken a hostage there.
Turkey’s Erdogan says media raids a response to ‘dirty’ plot
IZMIT, Turkey (Reuters) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Monday defended weekend raids on media outlets close to a U.S.-based Muslim cleric as a necessary response to “dirty operations” by the government’s political enemies, and told a critical Eu…
France urges African nations to take charge of their security
DAKAR (Reuters) – France urged African nations on Monday to step up cross-border cooperation to tackle security challenges from Islamist groups in southern Libya to Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria, as it seeks to scale back its military commitments on th…
U.S. asks Vatican for help with Guantanamo inmates
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – The United States, which is seeking ways to close Guantanamo Bay prison camp and to transfer inmates to third countries, asked the Vatican on Monday for help finding “humanitarian solutions” for inmates, Vatican spokesman Fathe…
Egypt to try 40 civilians in military courts over protests
CAIRO (Reuters) – An Egyptian prosecutor has referred 40 alleged supporters of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, including nine women, to a military court on charges related to their role in protests, judicial sources said, as the state continues to crack…
Sisters in the vanguard as Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood battles to survive
CAIRO (Reuters) – In homes and streets around Egypt, women are keeping alive a group the authorities are determined to crush. They teach Muslim Brotherhood values to children, organize its protests, preserve its networks, and take an ever more prominen…
U.N. Gulf War fund to meet this week on Iraq payment delay
GENEVA (Reuters) – The United Nations Gulf War reparations fund will hold a special meeting on Thursday to address Iraq’s plea to postpone a final $4.6 billion instalment payment for its 1990-91 occupation of Kuwait, a U.N. official said.
Kabila says Congo won’t bow to foreign ‘injunctions’
KINSHASA (Reuters) – The president of Democratic Republic of Congo told foreign nations on Monday to respect his country’s sovereignty after several urged him to comply with the constitution and not to run for re-election.
Russia says it wants east Ukraine to stay with Kiev under reformed constitution
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Moscow wants Ukraine to carry out a constitutional reform to allow more autonomy to Russian-speaking eastern regions that would then stay with Kiev, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in comments published on Monday.
Merkel urges Bulgaria to seek new talks with Putin on South Stream
BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel backed Bulgaria on Monday in its bid to seek new talks with Russia about the South Stream gas pipeline after Moscow shelved the project this month in favor of an alternative link via Turkey.
