Sudan releases Christian convert but insists she stay in the country
KHARTOUM (Reuters) – A Sudanese woman who was spared the death penalty for converting to Christianity but was then detained as she tried to leave the country was released from custody on Thursday, on condition she remains in Sudan, her lawyer said.
Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party announces presidential candidate
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – The co-chairman of Turkey’s main pro-Kurdish People’s Democracy Party (HDP) will run in the country’s first direct presidential election in August, Turkish media said on Thursday.
World powers plan strategy to rescue Iran nuclear deal
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Senior diplomats from six world powers met in Brussels on Thursday to search for ways to resuscitate negotiations with Iran over its contested nuclear program, with less than four weeks left until a late-July deadline to strike an …
Libya to move new parliament to Benghazi despite collapse of security
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libya’s new parliament will hold sessions in the eastern port city of Benghazi from Aug. 1 onwards to help implant state institutions in a region where law and order has largely collapsed, officials said on Thursday.
Israel names two Hamas militants as key suspects in kidnappings
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel on Thursday named two Hamas Islamists as leading suspects in the June 12 kidnappings of three Israeli teenagers, in the most concrete report yet of results after weeks of searches in the occupied West Bank.
Abuja bomb cuts short Nigeria president’s trip to AU summit
ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has cut short a trip to an African Union summit in Gabon a day after a bomb blast in Abuja, his office said on Thursday, highlighting how an Islamist insurgency could disrupt Nigeria’s regional inf…
Ex-Murdoch CEO Brooks says vindicated by not guilty verdicts
LONDON (Reuters) – Rebekah Brooks, the former boss of News Corp.’s British newspaper arm, said on Thursday she felt vindicated after being found not guilty this week of hacking phone messages and other crimes while editing Rupert Murdoch’s British tabl…
Niger detains 17 in suspected “baby factory” ring: sources
NIAMEY (Reuters) – Authorities in Niger have detained 17 people, including wives of senior politicians, suspected of being involved in a baby-trafficking network, two legal sources said on Thursday.
Saudi king orders steps against ‘terrorist threats’
RIYADH (Reuters) – King Abdullah ordered all necessary measures to protect Saudi Arabia against potential “terrorist threats” after chairing a security meeting to discuss the fall-out from Iraq, the state news agency SPA said on Thursday.
India’s new government accused of interfering with judicial independence
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s new prime minister, Narendra Modi, faces accusations his government ran a campaign to block the appointment of a Supreme Court judge it believed was biased against it, fuelling a debate about judicial independence in the w…