Crime spree helps Pakistani Taliban squirrel away cash before raids begin
PESHAWAR Pakistan (Reuters) – In the months before Pakistan jets began pounding Taliban hideouts in the lawless border region near Afghanistan, militants were busily conducting an unprecedented wave of kidnapping and extortion, stockpiling cash for the…
Kerry, ministers to join Iran nuclear talks in Vienna: official
PRAGUE (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and foreign ministers from the six powers negotiating with Iran on its nuclear programme will travel to Vienna this weekend to help break the logjam in the talks, a senior Western official said on T…
Libya prepares to move parliament to Benghazi
BENGHAZI Libya (Reuters) – Libyan authorities signaled on Thursday they would press ahead with plans to move the country’s parliament to the eastern port city of Benghazi despite a collapse in law and order there.
Police rescue 165 kidnapped migrants in Mexican border state
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexican state police rescued 165 migrants who had been kidnapped while traveling to the United States in the crime-ridden border state of Tamaulipas, authorities said on Thursday.
Brazil’s Rousseff lets Obama off the hook for NSA spying
BRASILIA (Reuters) – President Dilma Rousseff said the Obama administration was not directly responsible for U.S. spying on Brazil and has taken steps toward smoothing over the diplomatic tensions set off by espionage disclosures last year.
Berlin tells CIA station chief to leave in spy scandal
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany told the CIA station chief in Berlin to leave the country on Thursday in a dramatic display of anger from Chancellor Angela Merkel at the behaviour of a close ally after officials unearthed two suspected U.S. spies.
World cities, home to most people, to add 2.5 billion more by 2050: U.N.
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – More than half of the world’s seven billion people live in urban areas, with the top “mega cities” – with more than 10 million inhabitants – being Tokyo, Delhi, Shanghai, Mexico City and Sao Paulo, according to a United Natio…
U.N. chief says de Mistura to be new Syria mediator
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday appointed veteran U.N. official Staffan de Mistura, a former U.N. special envoy to Afghanistan and Iraq, to replace Lakhdar Brahimi as the international mediator seekin…
U.S. imposes sanctions on Lebanese firm for Hezbollah ties
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on Thursday imposed financial sanctions on a Lebanese consumer electronics company, saying it purchased supplies used to develop military drones for the militant Hezbollah movement.
Insurgents enter military base northeast of Baghdad: officials
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Sunni insurgents battling forces loyal to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki broke into a military base in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad on Thursday, a security source and a local official said.
