Ukraine fights ‘foreign mercenaries’ in its east, says president
KIEV/DONETSK Ukraine (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Saturday his country was not fighting a civil war in its east but was fighting “foreign mercenaries”, hailing soldiers for forcing pro-Russian rebels out of several towns and…
Egypt summons Turkish envoy for second time over Erdogan comments
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt summoned the Turkish charge d’affaires on Saturday for the second time in a month to complain about comments by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan deemed insulting to the leadership in Cairo, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said.
Venezuela’s Maduro combats dissidence among ruling socialists
CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s ruling Socialist Party began a six-day congress on Saturday with President Nicolas Maduro seeking to quieten hardliners who believe the state is failing to stem corruption or fix the economy.
Voting in Turkey’s presidential election begins at borders
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish nationals living abroad began casting their ballots on Saturday at border customs offices, launching the voting cycle in the country’s first direct presidential election.
United States pulls embassy staff from Libya due to security concerns
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – The United States evacuated its embassy in Libya on Saturday, temporarily relocating its staff across the border to Tunisia because of escalating clashes between rival militias in Tripoli, the U.S. State Department said. The U.S. pu…
Boko Haram clashes with Cameroon soldiers in cross-border attacks
YAOUNDE (Reuters) – Nigeria’s Islamist militant group Boko Haram has carried out two cross-border attacks into Cameroon since Friday, killing at least four soldiers and prompting the Cameroonian army to send reinforcements to the area, army sources sai…
EU edges to economic sanctions on Russia but narrows scope
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union reached outline agreement on Friday to impose the first economic sanctions on Russia over its behavior in Ukraine but scaled back their scope to exclude technology for the crucial gas sector.
Malaysia, Dutch PMs to discuss access to plane crash site
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Saturday he would meet his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte next week to discuss how to secure full access for investigators to the site in Ukraine where a Malaysian airliner was downed….
Mayor of central Ukrainian city shot dead
KIEV (Reuters) – The mayor of the central Ukrainian town of Kremenchuk was shot dead on Saturday and the house of another mayor in Lviv to the West was hit by fire from a grenade launcher, the Interior Ministry said.
China’s Guangdong province removes over 850 ‘naked officials’ from their posts
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – More than 850 government workers in China’s southern province of Guangdong have been forced out of their jobs as part of an anti-crackdown on officials whose spouses and children have emigrated abroad.
