U.S. aims to keep Iran atomic talks separate from Islamic State conflict
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. officials hope to prevent two diplomatic challenges with Iran from colliding next week: the Iranian nuclear program and the threat posed by the Islamic State militant group.
Chad accuses U.N. of neglecting its peacekeepers in Mali
N’DJAMENA (Reuters) – Chad’s government accused the United Nations’ peacekeeping mission in Mali on Friday of failing to relieve its contingent in the country’s volatile north and neglecting to support it, a day after five Chadian soldiers were killed …
Exxon winds down drilling as U.S. sanctions hit Russia
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Exxon Mobil said on Friday it will wind down drilling in Russia’s Arctic in the face of U.S. sanctions targeting Western cooperation with Moscow’s oil sector, after the Obama administration granted a brief extension to safely mot…
Ex-El Salvador president to await graft trial in jail, not at home
SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) – Former El Salvador President Francisco Flores was taken from his home in San Salvador where he was under house arrest to prison on Friday where he will remain until he faces trial on corruption charges.
Ebola lockdown brings Sierra Leone capital to a halt
FREETOWN (Reuters) – Streets in the capital of Sierra Leone were deserted on Friday as the West African state began a contested, three-day lockdown in a bid to halt the worst Ebola outbreak on record.
Syria militants kill captive Lebanese soldier, bomb kills two
BEIRUT (Reuters) – The Nusra Front, al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, killed one of the Lebanese soldiers it had been holding in captivity, Lebanese security sources and a Twitter statement said on Friday.
Mexican kingpin’s brother among seven slain men in western state
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – The brother of one of Mexico’s most wanted drug lords was among seven dead men found on Friday in a violent western state that has been one of the biggest security headaches for President Enrique Pena Nieto.
Russia critical of MH17 inquiry, wants bigger U.N. role
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Russia on Friday criticized an international investigation into the downing of a Malaysia Airlines plane in Ukraine, saying it can be transparent only with more U.N. involvement, even though the world body found the inquiry m…
Three years after Somali famine, new hunger crisis looms
MOGADISHU (Reuters) – When African peacekeepers and Somali troops launched an offensive against Islamist militants in Somalia’s small seaside town of Marka, Rukia Nur and her 10 children joined the stream of thousands who have fled to the capital in pa…
Bahrain says parties find common ground but Shi’ites say demands not met
MANAMA (Reuters) – Bahrain’s Crown Prince said on Friday political parties had identified five areas of “common ground” including potential parliamentary and judicial reforms, in a bid to end years of instability in the U.S.-allied Gulf Arab island sta…
