Sri Lankan minister quits, to challenge Rajapaksa for presidency
COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lankan Health Minister Mithripala Sirisena resigned on Friday and said he would run as an opposition candidate against President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a snap election in January.
In Mali’s desert French troops hunt al Qaeda well by well
NORTH OF TIMBUKTU Mali (Reuters) – If the French army and its allies are to keep al Qaeda at bay in the desert of northern Mali they must stop them seizing the biggest prizes in the sea of white sand – the wells.
Islamic State attacks Iraq provincial capital: officials
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Islamic State fighters attacked a government complex in the heart of an Iraqi provincial capital on Friday, local officials said, in an apparently coordinated effort to seize full control of the city.
In blow to PM Cameron, Britain’s anti-EU UKIP party wins second parliamentary seat
ROCHESTER/LONDON (Reuters) – Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservatives lost a second parliamentary seat to the anti-EU UKIP party on Friday, an embarrassing defeat heralding a possible fragmentation of Britain’s two-party system in next year’s natio…
Japan PM seeks verdict on ‘Abenomics’ in snap election
TOKYO (Reuters) – Prime Minister Shinzo Abe dissolved parliament’s lower house on Friday for a snap election on Dec. 14, seeking a fresh mandate for his struggling “Abenomics” revival strategy just two years after he returned to power promising that “J…
Merkel aide raps Russia after report on aid to Ukraine rebels
BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman accused Moscow on Friday of actively stoking the conflict in eastern Ukraine after a senior separatist in the region was quoted as saying the rebels were receiving “a lot” of Russian money….
Hungarian Internet tax plan hits ruling party support: poll
BUDAPEST (Reuters) – Support for Hungary’s ruling party has fallen by one-seventh after it announced – and then hastily withdrew – a plan to impose a tax on Internet usage, an opinion poll showed on Friday.
UK-Spain dispute over Gibraltar threatens European skies reform
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The dispute between Britain and Spain over Gibraltar threatens to hold up European Union plans to merge national air corridors, diplomats say.
China commits $45.6 billion for economic corridor with Pakistan
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – The Chinese government and banks will finance Chinese companies to build $45.6 billion worth of energy and infrastructure projects in Pakistan over the next six years, according to new details of the deal seen by Reuters on Friday…
Exclusive: Romania’s Ponta could face leadership challenge
BUCHAREST (Reuters) – Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta could face a leadership challenge next year from within his own ranks, as the ruling Social Democrat party looks to contain the fallout from an embarrassing presidential election defeat.
