Iraq’s Maliki finally steps aside, paving way for new government
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Nuri al-Maliki finally bowed to pressure within Iraq and beyond on Thursday and stepped down as prime minister, paving the way for a new coalition that world and regional powers hope can quash a Sunni Islamist insurgency that threat…
Japanese cabinet ministers visit shrine to war dead on anniversary of World War Two defeat
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese cabinet ministers paid their respects on Friday at a Tokyo shrine to war dead seen as a symbol of Japan’s past militarism, a move likely to anger Asian neighbors and put at risk attempts to improve regional ties.
Guinea declares public health emergency over Ebola
CONAKRY (Reuters) – Guinea has declared a public health emergency over an Ebola epidemic that has killed more than 1,000 people in three West African states and is sending health workers to all affected border points, a government official said.
Exclusive: Emergency food drops eyed for quarantined Ebola region of West Africa
WASHINGTON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – International agencies are looking into emergency food drops and truck convoys to reach extremely hungry people in Liberia and Sierra Leone, who are cordoned off from the outside world to halt the spread of the…
Renewed Gaza truce holds after rocky start
GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – A new, five-day truce between Israel and Hamas appeared to be holding on Thursday despite a shaky start, after both sides agreed to give Egyptian-brokered peace negotiations in Cairo more time to try to end the Gaza war.
Egyptians protest on anniversary of bloody day, five dead
CAIRO (Reuters) – Four protesters and a policeman were killed in Cairo on Thursday, the government said, one year after government forces killed hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood demonstrators in the worst bloodshed in Egypt’s recent history.
Exclusive: Governor of Iraq’s Sunni heartland secures U.S. support against militants
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – The governor of Iraq’s Anbar province in the Sunni heartland said he has asked for and secured U.S. support in the battle against Islamic State militants because opponents of the group may not have the stamina for a long fight.
Colombia’s Santos says backs marijuana use for medical purposes
BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos said on Thursday he supported the use of marijuana for medical use as a means to ease the suffering of terminally ill patients and deprive criminals of profits from the illegal trade in the dru…
U.N. chief Ban names Spanish diplomat as new Libya envoy
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday named Spanish diplomat Bernardino Leon as the world body’s special envoy to Libya, which is experiencing the worst fighting between armed factions since the 2011 fall of Muammar …
Under artillery fire, Ukraine rebels switch their leaders
DONETSK Ukraine (Reuters) – Two of the most senior rebels battling government troops in eastern Ukraine quit on Thursday, deepening the disarray in a pro-Moscow separatist movement that is being pushed back by an Ukrainian military offensive.
