Armenian president names speaker as new prime minister
YEREVAN (Reuters) – Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan appointed parliament speaker Hovik Abrahamyan as the ex-Soviet republic’s new prime minister on Sunday, replacing a six-year veteran who resigned after protests against his pension reform.
At least 36 people killed in Mexican bus crash
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – At least 36 people were killed and four injured on Sunday when a bus crashed into the back of a truck in eastern Mexico and caught fire, the government of the state of Veracruz said.
Sahara Islamists release video of Algerian diplomat hostage: agency
NOUAKCHOTT (Reuters) – Sahara-based Islamists holding three Algerian diplomats hostage have sent a video of one of them to Mauritania’s ANI news agency, ANI said, the first proof of life in over a year.
Israel appropriates land in West Bank: newspaper
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel has carried out a new land appropriation in the occupied West Bank, the Haaretz daily said on Sunday, in a move that could complicate efforts to extend troubled peace talks with the Palestinians.
Syria’s Assad says war turning in his favor
BEIRUT (Reuters) – President Bashar al-Assad said on Sunday that Syria’s three-year conflict was at a “turning point” due to his forces’ military gains against rebels, state media said.
Libyan prime minister quits after one month, citing violence
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libya’s interim prime minister handed his resignation to parliament on Sunday, just one month into the job, saying gunmen had tried to attack his family.
Kuwait opposition calls for elected government, reforms
KUWAIT (Reuters) – An opposition group in Kuwait, the Gulf Arab country with the most open political system, has set out a wide-ranging proposal for reform including parties, an elected government and greater powers for parliament.
Most Pakistani villagers abducted from ‘hashish festival’ freed
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) – Gunmen on Sunday freed most of the Pakistani villagers they had kidnapped from a hashish festival in the remote mountainous northwest, a government official said.
Abdullah leads in first official results from Afghan vote
KABUL (Reuters) – Initial election results put Afghan opposition figure Abdullah Abdullah in the lead on Sunday, but with less than 10 percent of votes counted and widespread allegations of fraud, there was no clear indication of who would succeed Hami…
Berlusconi loses his longtime spokesman before European vote
ROME (Reuters) – The spokesman who shadowed former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi for almost two decades quit the center-right leader’s party on Sunday, a statement said, the latest blow to the media magnate ahead of a crucial European Parlia…
