Niger troops and Chad air force fight off Boko Haram attack
NIAMEY (Reuters) – Niger troops and Chadian war planes fought off an attack on Friday on the Niger town of Bosso by Boko Haram militants whose insurgency is spreading from Nigeria to neighboring states, military officials in Niger said.
Lebanon removes political banners, a legacy of the civil war
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanon has begun removing political posters and party banners from neighborhoods of the capital in a move to unify a country still divided from a civil war, following an agreement between the militant and political group Hezbollah a…
Italy’s Renzi strengthened as centrists defect to ruling party
ROME (Reuters) – Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi got a political boost on Friday when eight members of a centrist party defected to join his ruling Democratic Party (PD), strengthening Renzi’s fragile majority in the upper house Senate.
Egyptian military kills 27 militants in the Sinai
CAIRO (Reuters) – Military air strikes killed 27 Islamic militants in Egypt’s Northern Sinai on Friday in one of the biggest security operations in the region in months, security sources said.
Syria’s Kurds celebrate after winning Kobani, but self-rule far off
KOBANI, Syria (Reuters) – Kurds are celebrating after flushing Islamic State militants out of the town of Kobani, but victory is not yet certain in their campaign to cement hard-won autonomy in northern Syria.
Turkey pulls out of Munich conference to avoid Israeli delegation
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Friday pulled out of a security conference in Munich at the last minute, saying he did not wish to attend a joint session with an Israeli delegation.
New Tunisian PM promises growth, reform and new hope
TUNIS (Reuters) – Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid promised quick reforms to stimulate growth as he took office on Friday at the head of a coalition government combining secular and Islamist parties.
Thousands rally in Jordan demanding revenge for pilot’s death
AMMAN (Reuters) – Thousands of Jordanians packed the streets of the capital Amman on Friday, urging their monarch to step up air strikes on Islamic State to avenge its killing of pilot Mouath al-Kasaesbeh.
South Africa’s ANC talks left on land as unrest flares
DIEPSLOOT, South Africa (Reuters) – South Africa’s government has built close to 4 million houses for low-income families since the end of apartheid in 1994.
Woman killed in Albanian floods as rain and snow batter Balkans
SKOPJE (Reuters) – Floods killed a woman in Albania on Friday and Macedonia sent more troops to a waterlogged central area after fresh rains, while snow closed roads and cut power in Croatia, Bosnia and Slovenia.
