Main fugitive in Mali prison break suspect in French kidnap: sources
BAMAKO (Reuters) – A fugitive at the heart of a jail break in Mali’s capital on Monday was being held for his alleged role in the 2011 kidnapping of two French citizens who ended up in the hands of al Qaeda’s regional faction, sources said on Tuesday.
Protest in eastern Libyan oil port town Brega, airport closed
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Protesters have closed an airport used by oil firms in the eastern Libyan port city of Brega over the appointment of a new head of a state oil guard force, senior members of the force and state media said on Tuesday.
U.S. holding captured Benghazi suspect on a ship: official
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Ahmed Abu Khatallah, a key suspect in a 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, is being held on a U.S. ship following his capture over the weekend by U.S. special operations forces, a U.S. official said o…
U.N. investigators warn of wider sectarian war across Iraq, Syria
GENEVA (Reuters) – The Middle East appears on the brink of wider sectarian war engulfing Iraq and Syria with radical Islamist insurgents wantonly kidnapping, torturing and killing civilians, U.N. human rights investigators said in a report on Tuesday.
Ukrainian forces, rebels clash near Russian border
KIEV (Reuters) – About 30 Ukrainian servicemen were wounded in fighting with pro-Russian separatists near Ukraine’s eastern border with Russia early on Tuesday, the border guard service said.
UK to re-open Iran embassy in diplomatic breakthrough
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain said on Tuesday it would re-open its embassy in Iran “within months,” after a hiatus of more than two and a half years, a diplomatic breakthrough that underscores the West’s desire to secure Tehran’s help in Iraq and elsewher…
President says Kenyan politics not Islamists behind attacks
NAIROBI Kenya (Reuters) – Kenya’s president shifted blame to domestic rivals on Tuesday for two attacks that killed 65 people on the coast and he dismissed claims of responsibility by Somali Islamist militants, which Nairobi usually fingers for such as…
Iraqi Islamists’ gains pose challenge to al Qaeda leader
(Reuters) – If the battle in Iraq and Syria were being fought by tycoons rather than jihadis, it might be called a hostile takeover in defiance of the main shareholder that has created a powerful multinational brand with an uncertain future.
Suspected Mexican drug trafficker arrested at World Cup in Brazil
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – A suspected Mexican drug trafficker wanted in the United States was arrested in Rio de Janeiro on Monday night as he tried to board a plane to watch Mexico play in the World Cup soccer competition, federal police said.
South Africa’s Zuma under pressure in major policy speech
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – South African President Jacob Zuma delivers the first State of the Nation address of his second term on Tuesday, under pressure to outline plans for reviving growth and creating much-needed jobs in Africa’s most advanced economy.
