Zambia denies reports President Sata was treated in U.S.
LUSAKA (Reuters) – Zambian President Michael Sata’s health is “entirely normal”, Vice President Guy Scott told parliament on Friday, countering reports the ailing 77-year-old had received medical treatment in the United States this week.
No significant progress in Iran nuclear talks: French minister
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – There has been no significant progress in nuclear talks between Iran and major powers and, as a result, a meeting between the two sides planned for Friday had to be called off, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on F…
Taliban storm Afghan district southwest of capital, 100 killed
GHAZNI Afghanistan (Reuters) – Hundreds of Taliban fighters have stormed a strategic district in an Afghan province southwest of the capital and are on the verge of capturing it after killing dozens of people and beheading some in days of fighting, off…
Hong Kong school children join student protest demanding democracy
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hundreds of children joined students demanding greater democracy for Hong Kong on Friday, capping a week-long campaign that has seen a large cut-out depicting the territory’s leader as the devil paraded through the city and calls …
China to restrict expansion of cities in move to curb ‘ghost towns’
BEIJING (Reuters) – China will more strictly police the expansion of cities to stop the spread of highly developed but sparsely populated cities or districts known as ghost towns, the state-backed Beijing News reported on Friday.
Shells land in Turkey as Islamic State advances on Syrian border town
KARACA Turkey (Reuters) – Islamic State fighters edged towards a strategic town on northern Syria’s border with Turkey on Friday, battling Kurdish forces and sending at least two shells into Turkish territory, witnesses said.
Political prisoners routinely tortured in Uzbekistan: Human Rights Watch
ALMATY (Reuters) – Torture of political prisoners is widespread in ex-Soviet Uzbekistan, a Central Asian country courted by the West as a transit point for forces fighting in Afghanistan, the U.S. campaign group Human Rights Watch said in a report on F…
Swedish center-left leader says has support for government
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Swedish Social Democrat leader Stefan Lofven said on Friday he was confident he could form a government and win support for a budget after this month’s general election, but he faces governing a weak minority coalition.
Portugal PM denies allegations of past financial impropriety
LISBON (Reuters) – Portugal’s Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho categorically denied on Friday allegations that he received improper payments more than a decade ago after the opposition argued the accusations were serious enough to threaten his job.
China’s communist party expels senior internet regulator for graft
BEIJING (Reuters) – A senior Chinese internet regulator has been expelled from the ruling Communist Party on graft charges, China’s top anti-graft body said on Friday, as it works to crack down on corruption in media and the internet.
