Israel strikes Gaza after militants resume rocket fire
GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel launched air strikes across the Gaza Strip on Friday in response to Palestinian rockets after Egyptian-mediated talks failed to extend a 72-hour truce in a month-old war.
Suspected Qaeda gunmen kidnap and kill 14 Yemeni soldiers: officials
ADEN (Reuters) – Gunmen believed to be al Qaeda militants kidnapped 14 Yemeni soldiers returning home by bus from duty in eastern Yemen on Friday and killed them, local officials and residents said.
U.N. seeks Libya ceasefire talks; protesters oppose Congress
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – A U.N. delegation held talks in Tripoli on Friday to try to broker a ceasefire between armed factions that have turned the Libyan capital and Benghazi into battlegrounds.
Pakistani police, protesters clash in deadly demonstrations in Punjab
LAHORE/MULTAN Pakistan (Reuters) – One man was killed and a police station partly burned as supporters of an anti-government cleric clashed with police in several Pakistani cities on Friday, officials said, before two large anti-government demonstratio…
Former PM Hariri back in Lebanon for first time in three years
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Former prime minister Saad al-Hariri returned to Lebanon on Friday for the first time in three years, on a visit seen as reasserting a moderate influence over the Sunni community following a deadly incursion by Islamist militants.
Back in Lebanon, former PM Hariri calls for president to be elected
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, back in Lebanon after over three years in self-imposed exile, on Friday called on lawmakers to elect a president to help ensure the stability of the country.
Detention of Chilean youth leader in Venezuela sparks protests
CARACAS/SANTIAGO (Reuters) – A right-wing Chilean youth leader was detained late on Thursday in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, sparking protests from officials in Chile and from opposition leaders in Venezuela.
Ukraine troops break out of encirclement, 15 troops killed
KIEV (Reuters) – Ukrainian army units which had been trapped by separatists on the border with Russia broke out of the blockade on Friday and rejoined government forces, but 15 soldiers and border guards were killed in the operation, the Ukrainian mili…
Nigerian army fights to push Boko Haram out of two northeast towns
MAIDUGURI Nigeria (Reuters) – Nigeria’s military fought gun battles with Boko Haram Islamists in two key northeastern towns on Friday, after the militants killed dozens of people and drove soldiers out of Gwoza town two days ago, security sources and t…
Militants say seeking prisoner swap with Lebanon
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Islamist militants holding 19 Lebanese soldiers seized during an incursion into Lebanon said on Friday they had demanded the release of Islamist prisoners in exchange for letting their captives go.
