Syria struggling to fill food import needs
LONDON (Reuters) – War-torn Syria is struggling to buy food commodities in the quantities it needs, despite repeatedly issuing tenders for hundreds of thousands of tonnes of sugar, rice and wheat, trade sources say.
Israel transfers Palestinian funds as threat of sanctions wanes
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Palestinian public sector workers received their salaries on Tuesday, Palestinian officials said, in a sign that Israel had backed down from a threat to impose sanctions as peace talks began to collapse last month.
Azerbaijan sentences eight opposition youth activists to jail
BAKU (Reuters) – Azerbaijan sentenced eight opposition youth activists on Tuesday to between six and eight years in prison in a case that critics say highlights a government-led crackdown on dissent in the oil-rich former Soviet republic.
South Sudan rebel leader ‘will do best’ to attend peace talks: U.N. chief
JUBA (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday South Sudan’s rebel leader Riek Machar had been invited to Ethiopia for peace talks and would “try his best” to go by the end of the week.
Yemen says army captures key militant stronghold
ADEN, Yemen (Reuters) – Yemeni government forces captured al Qaeda’s main stronghold in the southern part of the country on Tuesday after insurgents blew up the local government compound there and fled, the Defense Ministry said.
Algerian troops kill 10 militants in south: state media
ALGIERS (Reuters) – Algerian government forces have killed 10 Islamist militants in an operation in the south of the country, the state news agency APS said, where authorities are concerned about an influx of arms and fighters from neighboring Mali and…
Toronto Mayor Ford withdrew application to enter U.S.: report
TORONTO (Reuters) – Toronto Mayor Rob Ford decided not to try to enter the United States shortly after flying to Chicago last Thursday, hours after saying he would take a leave of absence from his job to seek treatment for an alcohol problem, the Globe…
South Sudan rebel will do best to go to peace talks: U.N. chief
JUBA (Reuters) – The U.N. secretary-general said on Tuesday that South Sudan’s rebel leader Riek Machar had been invited to Ethiopia for peace talks and that would “try his best” to go by the end of the week.
Egypt court bans Mubarak-era leaders from running in elections
CAIRO (Reuters) – An Egyptian court on Tuesday banned the leaders of autocratic ex-president Hosni Mubarak’s party from running in any coming elections but did not list any names, drawing complaints about a lack of clarity that could blunt the move’s i…
Nigeria’s Boko Haram threatens to sell kidnapped schoolgirls
ABUJA (Reuters) – The leader of Boko Haram on Monday threatened to sell more than 200 schoolgirls his Islamist militant group kidnapped in northeastern Nigeria last month.
