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.
Iran nuclear talks sides far apart, paper quotes UK’s Hague
VIENNA (Reuters) – Significant differences remain between six world powers and Iran in negotiations over its nuclear program, an Austrian newspaper quoted British Foreign Minister William Hague as saying.
Catalan language revival fuels backlash in Spain
CORNELLA DE LLOBREGAT Spain (Reuters) – Francesca Munoz, the principal at Sant Miquel primary school near Barcelona, is fighting a linguistic crusade that has fueled a remarkable recovery of the local Catalan tongue – and of the region’s secessionist movement.
Bahrain charges opposition leader over meeting with U.S. diplomat
MANAMA (Reuters) – Bahrain has charged the country’s most senior opposition leader and one of his aides with holding an illegal meeting with a U.S. diplomat, the public prosecutor’s office said on Thursday.
Myanmar jails reporters, newspaper boss for 10 years
YANGON, (Reuters) – Four journalists and a newspaper boss were sentenced in Myanmar on Thursday to 10 years’ jail with hard labor for reporting about an alleged chemical weapons factory, legal and media sources said.
Baghdad halts Kurdish cargo flights after ministers’ boycott
BAGHDAD/ARBIL (Reuters) – Kurdish ministers boycotted Iraq’s caretaker cabinet and authorities in Baghdad halted cargo flights to two Kurdish cities on Thursday in an escalating feud between the Kurds and the Shi’ite-led central government.
Turkish parliament gives legal recognition to Kurdish peace talks
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s parliament approved a legal framework on Thursday for peace talks with Kurdish militants in an important step towards ending a three-decade insurgency a few weeks before a presidential election.
Seized nuclear material in Iraq ‘low grade’: U.N. agency
VIENNA (Reuters) – The U.N. atomic agency said on Thursday it believed nuclear material which Iraq said had fallen into the hands of insurgents was “low grade” and did not pose a significant security risk.
