Maliki defiant as his special forces deploy in Baghdad
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Special forces loyal to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki were deployed in strategic areas of Baghdad on Sunday night after he delivered a tough speech indicating he would not cave in to pressure to drop a bid for a third term, po…
Erdogan’s presidential win starts race for new Turkish government
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s ruling party began deliberations on the shape of the next government on Monday after Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan secured his place in history by winning the nation’s first direct presidential election.
Dissident Pakistani cleric to join opposition demonstration
LAHORE/MULTAN Pakistan (Reuters) – Dissident cleric Tahir ul-Qadri who aims to topple Pakistan’s government announced on Sunday that his followers would stage a demonstration in the capital on Thursday, on the same day as an opposition protest led by I…
Saudi Arabia jails four for seeking to fight in Syria
RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s Specialised Criminal Court has sentenced four men to prison for traveling abroad to fight in Syria’s civil war, local and state media reported on Sunday.
Heavy shelling resumes in Libyan capital Tripoli
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Heavy shelling resumed in the Libyan capital Tripoli on Sunday after three days of relative calm following more than a month of street fighting between rival armed factions battling for control of the city’s airport.
Turkey’s Erdogan takes early lead in presidential race: TV
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan took an early lead in the country’s first direct presidential election on Sunday, winning around 56 percent of the vote with 43 percent of ballots counted, Turkish television stations said.
Ukrainian forces encircle rebel-held city, talk of truce collapses
KIEV/DONETSK Ukraine (Reuters) – Artillery shells slammed into the outskirts of the Ukrainian city of Donetsk on Sunday as government forces tightened the noose around the rebel-held redoubt and called on pro-Russian separatists to surrender.
At least 39 killed in Iranian plane crash
DUBAI (Reuters) – At least 39 people were killed on Sunday when an Iran-140 Sepahan Air passenger plane crashed after takeoff from Tehran’s Mehrabad airport on a flight to Tabas in northeast Iran, state media reported.
Suicide bomber targets foreign troops in Kabul, four civilians killed
KABUL (Reuters) – A suicide car bomber targeted a convoy of foreign forces in the capital Kabul on Sunday, killing at least four Afghan civilians, including children, and wounding dozens, Afghan security officials said.
China rebuffs U.S. efforts on South China Sea tensions
NAYPYITAW (Reuters) – China appeared to rebuff pressure from the United States to rein in its assertive actions in the South China Sea on Sunday as Southeast Asian nations declined to overtly back Washington’s proposal for a freeze on provocative acts….
