Iraqi foreign minister blames Maliki for Islamist insurgency
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and his security officials are to blame for the rise of Sunni Muslim insurgents who have seized parts of Iraq, the country’s foreign minister said.
Campaign for an independent Scotland stalls before historic vote
LONDON (Reuters) – The campaign for Scotland to break away from the United Kingdom has stalled just over a month before Scots decide whether to go it alone in a referendum, an analysis of the latest six opinion polls showed on Friday.
Somali lawmaker killed in Mogadishu, fifth since April
MOGADISHU (Reuters) – Islamist militants shot dead a Somali lawmaker in the capital Mogadishu on Friday by blocking his car and spraying him with bullets, police and witnesses said, after the fifth killing of a legislator in less than four months.
Myanmar military releases 91 child soldiers
YANGON (Reuters) – Myanmar’s military released 91 children and young people from military service on Friday, the United Nations said as it encouraged the army to speed up demobilization to ensure it has no under-age soldiers in its ranks.
South Sudan conflict drives idea of oil wealth monitoring
NAIROBI (Reuters) – South Sudan’s oil fields have become a battleground in the struggle for power in Africa’s newest nation, encouraging Western nations and regional mediators to consider international monitoring of crude revenues as a way to remove a …
Rescuers in Indian landslide say hopes for survivors ‘bleak’
MALIN India (Reuters) – Hopes of finding survivors in India from a landslide that swallowed up more than 100 people faded on Friday as rescuers dug through mud and debris following heavy rains, with the death toll rising to 52.
Tunisia guards fire in air to disperse crowds at Libya border
RAS JDIR Tunisia (Reuters) – Tunisian guards shot into the air and fired tear gas on Friday to stop a group of Egyptians from storming across the border with Libya after fleeing violence in Tripoli, a Reuters reporter said.
Gas blast in Taiwan kills 25, injures 267, topples buildings
KAOHSIUNG Taiwan (Reuters) – A series of explosions caused by a gas leak killed 25 people and injured 267 in Taiwan’s second city on Friday, sending flames shooting 15 storeys into the air, setting ablaze entire blocks and reducing small shops to rubbl…
Court rejects request to arrest Kremlin critic Navalny
MOSCOW (Reuters) – A Russian court on Friday rejected a request by the prosecutor’s office and the prison service to issue an arrest warrant for anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny on suspicion of violating his house arrest terms.
India’s Congress slams book challenging party chief Sonia Gandhi
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Revelations in a new book by former Congress Party stalwart K. Natwar Singh have put Sonia Gandhi on the defense this week, in the latest challenge to her leadership of the embattled party and India’s foremost political dynasty.
