Besieged Muslims face murder, starvation in Central African Republic town
BODA, Central African Republic (Reuters) – In normal times, the rickety wooden bridges at each end of the red-dirt main street in Boda were gateways to shops and a bustling market in the diamond-mining town in western Central African Republic.
Bahraini man dies two months after being shot by police: family
MANAMA (Reuters) – A Bahraini man died on Friday from shotgun pellet wounds sustained during clashes with police almost two months ago, rights activists said, becoming the first person to be killed in such circumstances since February last year.
Algeria’s Bouteflika wins re-election with 81.5 percent: official results
ALGIERS (Reuters) – Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the aging independence veteran already in power for 15 years, won re-election on Friday after a vote opponents dismissed as a stage-managed fraud to keep the ailing leader in power.
Turkish president rules out role swap with Erdogan
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s president appeared to rule out a job swap with Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan when his term as head of state ends in a few months, signaling strains between the allies following months of political tension.
Poles most worried about their independence in at least 23 years: poll
WARSAW (Reuters) – Poles are more worried about their national independence than at any time since at least 1991, soon after the collapse of communism in the region, and 80 percent name Russia as the main threat, a survey shows.
Bomb blast kills 14 at mosque in Syria’s Homs: state TV
BEIRUT (Reuters) – A bomb went off in front of a mosque and killed 14 people in Homs, Syrian state television said on Friday, with forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad looking close to wresting the symbolic central city back from rebels.
Top Hollande aide quits in conflict of interest row
CLERMONT-FERRAND, France (Reuters) – A senior adviser to French President Francois Hollande quit on Friday over accusations of past conflict of interest linked to his work for pharmaceutical firms, adding to pressure on the unpopular Socialist leader w…
South Sudan deploys army to guard U.N. base after attack kills dozens
NAIROBI (Reuters) – South Sudan sent troops to secure a United Nations base after armed civilians fired on displaced tribespeople sheltering there, in an attack that killed at least 48, the president’s spokesman said on Friday.
Burundi creates reconciliation body that divides public opinion
BUJUMBURA (Reuters) – Burundi, locked in its worst political crisis since its civil war ended in 2005, has created a reconciliation commission that opposition parties say will shield the ruling party from accountability for past crimes.
Japan to arm remote western island, risking more China tension
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan is sending 100 soldiers and radar to its westernmost outpost, a tropical island off Taiwan, in a deployment that risks angering China with ties between Asia’s biggest economies already hurt by a dispute over nearby islands they …
