Crime-ridden state poses acid test for Mexican oil reform
TAMPICO Mexico (Reuters) – During Mexico’s first oil boom, Tampico was such a magnet for foreign capital that it became the biggest oil-exporting port in the Americas and home to grandiose architecture that inspired comparisons to Venice and New Orlean…
Libyans slow to vote for new parliament in test for transition
TRIPOLI/BENGHAZI Libya (Reuters) – Less than a third of Libyan voters had gone to the polls by late afternoon on Wednesday in a parliamentary election overshadowed by violence.
In defense of Rebekah Brooks: a British lawyer cripples the prosecution case
LONDON (Reuters) – Just weeks before her trial on phone-hacking charges was due to start, Rebekah Brooks got some crushing news: the former head of Rupert Murdoch’s British newspaper arm learnt that her main defense lawyer could no longer represent her…
Argentina’s Kicillof to hold news conference following U.N. address
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Argentina’s Economy Minister Axel Kicillof will hold a news conference following his address on the country’s debt situation to the United Nations, the country’s U.N. ambassador said Wednesday.
South Africa miners return to work after longest platinum strike
MARIKANA South Africa (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of South African platinum miners returned to work on Wednesday after wage deals ended the longest and most damaging strike in the country’s history.
Police arrest 13 for planning attacks on Kenyan coast: ministry
NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenyan police have arrested 13 members of an outlawed separatist movement and accused them of planning ethnically-motivated attacks similar to assaults that killed dozens in the coastal region this month, the Interior Ministry said….
Suicide bomber kills four in Kurdish-held Iraqi city Kirkuk: police
KIRKUK Iraq (Reuters) – A suicide bomber killed four people and wounded 16 in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk, police sources said on Wednesday, the first suicide attack since Kurdish forces occupied the city on June 12.
Syrian Qaeda wing pledges loyalty to ISIL in border town
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syria’s al Qaeda wing has pledged loyalty to the rival Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group in a Syrian border town, a monitoring group said, boosting ISIL’s control on both sides of the frontier.
Turkey’s Erdogan set to run for presidency: deputy PM Arinc
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan will almost certainly be announced next week as the ruling party’s candidate for August’s presidential election, deputy prime minister Bulent Arinc said on Wednesday.
Venezuela ruling party suspends leader for echoing criticism: media
CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s ruling Socialist Party has suspended one of its directors for echoing a former official’s recent criticism over corruption, local media reported on Wednesday, a sign President Nicolas Maduro is facing growing dissent fro…
