Support for Quebec separatists sinks as election nears: poll
OTTAWA (Reuters) – The governing separatist Parti Quebecois would lose next month’s Quebec provincial election if it were held now, a poll released on Tuesday showed, a casualty of renewed concentration during the campaign on the issue of independence …
Taliban gunmen storm election office near Afghan presidential candidate’s home
KABUL (Reuters) – Taliban suicide bombers and gunmen attacked an election commission office in Kabul next to the home of presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday, rattling nerves in the Afghan capital less than two weeks before an important elect…
Tuareg leader to Mali government: start talks or risk new revolt
DAKAR (Reuters) – The leader of a new armed group in Mali’s troubled north said the central government in Bamako could face another uprising of his Tuareg people if it resists pressure to launch long-delayed talks on the region’s future.
Exclusive: South African military in ‘critical decline’, review says
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – South Africa’s cash-strapped armed forces are in a “critical state of decline” that will take at least a decade to fix even with urgent action, according to a military strategy review seen by Reuters.
Doubts surface on Gaza destination of rockets seized by Israel
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Some U.S. intelligence analysts and Middle East security officials believe that a rocket shipment seized by the Israeli navy in the Red Sea this month was destined for the Egyptian Sinai and not for the Gaza Strip, as Israel says….
German airports to be hit by strikes on Thursday
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Passengers at German airports face lengthy delays on Thursday after trade union Verdi called for a strike by ground staff as part of wider industrial action over public sector pay.
Director of South African tech firm charged with attempted police bribe
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – An executive director of South Africa’s Pinnacle Holdings has been charged with offering a $460,000 bribe to a senior police official in an attempt to win an equipment deal for the technology company, police said on Tuesday.
UNRWA chief appeals to Israel, Egypt over Gaza restrictions
GAZA (Reuters) – The outgoing head of the U.N. agency that aids Palestinian refugees urged Israel and Egypt on Tuesday to lift their border restrictions on the Hamas Islamist-run Gaza Strip.
White House ‘disappointed’ after Jerusalem Post reporter denied Saudi visa
THE HAGUE (Reuters) – The White House on Tuesday said it was “deeply disappointed” that Saudi Arabia had denied a visa to a U.S. citizen working for Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post to cover President Barack Obama’s trip to the kingdom later this w…
Union calls for strike at German airports on Thursday morning
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Passengers travelling through Germany’s major airports, including Frankfurt and Munich, face delays on Thursday after trade union Verdi called on public sector workers to take part in strike action to put pressure on employers in …