U.N. investigators warn of wider sectarian war across Iraq, Syria
GENEVA (Reuters) – The Middle East appears on the brink of wider sectarian war engulfing Iraq and Syria with radical Islamist insurgents wantonly kidnapping, torturing and killing civilians, U.N. human rights investigators said in a report on Tuesday.
Ukrainian forces, rebels clash near Russian border
KIEV (Reuters) – About 30 Ukrainian servicemen were wounded in fighting with pro-Russian separatists near Ukraine’s eastern border with Russia early on Tuesday, the border guard service said.
UK to re-open Iran embassy in diplomatic breakthrough
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain said on Tuesday it would re-open its embassy in Iran “within months,” after a hiatus of more than two and a half years, a diplomatic breakthrough that underscores the West’s desire to secure Tehran’s help in Iraq and elsewher…
President says Kenyan politics not Islamists behind attacks
NAIROBI Kenya (Reuters) – Kenya’s president shifted blame to domestic rivals on Tuesday for two attacks that killed 65 people on the coast and he dismissed claims of responsibility by Somali Islamist militants, which Nairobi usually fingers for such as…
Iraqi Islamists’ gains pose challenge to al Qaeda leader
(Reuters) – If the battle in Iraq and Syria were being fought by tycoons rather than jihadis, it might be called a hostile takeover in defiance of the main shareholder that has created a powerful multinational brand with an uncertain future.
Suspected Mexican drug trafficker arrested at World Cup in Brazil
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – A suspected Mexican drug trafficker wanted in the United States was arrested in Rio de Janeiro on Monday night as he tried to board a plane to watch Mexico play in the World Cup soccer competition, federal police said.
South Africa’s Zuma under pressure in major policy speech
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – South African President Jacob Zuma delivers the first State of the Nation address of his second term on Tuesday, under pressure to outline plans for reviving growth and creating much-needed jobs in Africa’s most advanced economy.
Decay of Libyan state clears desert trail for Africans to Europe
GHAT Libya (Reuters) – Abdulkabir and five of his friends, all from Niger, walked for hours over rocky hills and sandy paths to cross into southern Libya, without meeting a single border guard. Safely over the border, they now feel no need to hide.
In diplomatic breakthrough, Britain says to re-open Iran embassy
LONDON (Reuters) – British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Tuesday Britain plans to re-open its embassy in Iran after it was closed two and a half years ago, saying it would establish a small initial presence in Tehran soon.
Sudden Cambodian worker exodus to hit Thai businesses
BANGKOK/SA KAEW Thailand (Reuters) – Thai officials said on Tuesday that the mass departure of Cambodian labourers would dent the economy as thousands more migrant workers, fearing reprisals from the new military government, poured across the border.
