Pakistan says no tension between government and army
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan denied reports about deepening divisions between the civilian government and the army on Saturday and said it had yet to decide whether to call off attempts to engage Pakistani Taliban insurgents in peace talks.
Magnitude 6.4 earthquake shakes Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria
ATHENS/ISTANBUL (Reuters) – An earthquake of 6.4 magnitude struck off the coast of northern Greece on Saturday, sending panicked residents into the streets in Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria, officials said.
Al Shabaab attacks Somali parliament, at least 10 dead
MOGADISHU (Reuters) – Al Shabaab stormed Somalia’s parliament on Saturday, killing at least 10 security officers in a bomb and gun assault that the United Nations called “an attack against the people”.
UK Cameron’s party drops hostile tone to UKIP after vote losses
LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative party dropped its hostile tone towards the Eurosceptic UKIP party on Saturday after it lost over 200 seats in local elections and a survey suggested it would lose a national vote ne…
Nigeria’s Boko Haram kills 28 in three village attacks
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) – Suspected Islamist Boko Haram gunmen rampaged through three villages in northern Nigeria, killing 28 people and burning houses to the ground in a pattern of violence that has become almost a daily occurrence, according to…
French troops battle Muslim rebels in Central African Republic town
BAMBARI, Central African Republic (Reuters) – French peacekeeping troops in Central African Republic used helicopter gunships and mortars on Saturday to fight Muslim rebels at a bridge in the town of Bambari, northeast of the capital Bangui, a Reuters …
Malawi president orders election re-run, but decision challenged
LILONGWE/BLANTYRE (Reuters) – President Joyce Banda on Saturday cancelled Malawi’s elections citing fraud and “rampant irregularities” in a decision that triggered protests and was challenged by the national electoral authority and a political rival.
Lebanon officially enters presidential vacuum
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Outgoing Lebanese President Michel Suleiman said on Saturday that dialogue was the only way to overcome deep divisions in the country, which is struggling to cope with political and security spillover from Syria’s civil war.
Two dead after missiles strike homes in Libya’s Benghazi
BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) – At least two people were killed when missiles fired at a Libyan special forces army base missed their target and struck family homes in the eastern city of Benghazi, residents and officials said on Saturday.
Sisi says Egypt will not allow threats to security from Libya
KUWAIT (Reuters) – Egypt will not allow armed turmoil in neighboring Libya to threaten its national security, presidential frontrunner Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said in an interview with the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat published on Saturday.