Egypt closes schools in Sinai towns as area inches toward open war
ISMAILIA Egypt (Reuters) – Egypt has indefinitely shut schools in two border towns in northern Sinai as the army prepares to intensify a battle with Islamist militants that turned the daily trip to lessons into a “journey of death”.
Mongolia gets new prime minister as economy slumps
ULAN BATOR (Reuters) – Mongolia’s parliament has appointed Chimed Saikhanbileg as prime minister, it said on Friday, more than two weeks after it ousted his predecessor for failing to get to grips with a slumping economy and foreign investment.
Mosque raids provoke clashes in Kenya’s Mombasa port
MOMBASA Kenya (Reuters) – Armed police patrolled streets in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa on Friday and many businesses were shut after clashes broke out with Moslem youths following a raid on a mosque.
Eight people die in helicopter crash in Romania
BUCHAREST (Reuters) – A helicopter carrying 10 people crashed in the central Romanian county of Sibiu on Friday, killing eight, the country’s emergency response agency said.
Israel says Hamas planned to assassinate Lieberman in West Bank
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel has arrested four Palestinians suspected of planning to kill Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman with an anti-tank rocket while he drove to his Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, Israeli officials say.
France tempers Iran nuclear stance in nod to wider diplomatic needs
PARIS (Reuters) – A year after France scuppered a deal on Iran’s nuclear program it is taking a softer stance in current talks, encouraged by a more inclusive U.S. approach and the knowledge that failure this year could have grim repercussions across t…
China’s defense minister calls for improved crisis management
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s defense minister called on Friday for better regional crisis management, saying that his country’s armed forces wanted peace but would never forget bitter lessons of the past.
Ex-finance minister warns Putin against populism, conservatism
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin warned President Vladimir Putin on Friday that “excessive conservatism” could restrict economic and political freedoms and said populist policies would weaken Russia.
Myanmar army says deadly strike against rebels meant only as ‘warning’
YANGON (Reuters) – The Myanmar army said that a deadly artillery attack on an insurgent military academy had been intended only as a “warning” strike, local media reported, amid mounting tensions ahead of renewed negotiations for a ceasefire.
U.S. drone strike kills six suspected militants in northwest Pakistan: officials
PESHAWAR Pakistan (Reuters) – A U.S. drone strike killed six suspected militants in northwestern Pakistan, security officials said on Friday, as al Qaeda said two members of the group had been killed in a previous strike.
