Afghan president’s brother withdraws from election, backs ex-minister
KABUL (Reuters) – The Afghan president’s older brother, Qayum Karzai, announced on Wednesday he was withdrawing from next month’s presidential election and would back former foreign minister Zalmai Rassoul, widely believed to be the president’s favored…
Nigeria’s APC pledges to fight graft at debut summit
ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigeria’s main opposition party slammed President Goodluck Jonathan’s record on corruption on Thursday, calling on Africa’s most populous nation to end the governing party’s 15-year rule at an election next year.
Five Afghan soldiers killed in air strike by NATO-led force
KABUL (Reuters) – Five Afghan soldiers were killed on Thursday in an air strike by the NATO-led force in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Logar, Afghan officials and the coalition said.
“Mission accomplished” for U.S. air base in pro-Moscow Kyrgyzstan
MANAS TRANSIT CENTER (Reuters) – A U.S. Air Force base in Kyrgyzstan is packing up for closure after more than 12 years of flying troops and cargo in and out of Afghanistan, as Moscow boosts its military clout in the strategic region.
France’s Sarkozy to sue over secret audio recordings: lawyers
PARIS (Reuters) – Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni are to file a legal complaint over secret audio recordings made of them by an adviser during the 2012 election campaign, lawyers for the couple said on Thursday.
Egypt has no plans to send ambassador back to Qatar: cabinet
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s ambassador to Qatar, who was recalled to Cairo last month over political tension between the two Arab states, will not go back to Doha for now, the cabinet said on Thursday.
Germany sued over suspected looted art found in Munich haul
BERLIN (Reuters) – An 88-year-old U.S. citizen is suing Germany and the state of Bavaria for the return of paintings he says were stolen from his uncle by the Nazis in 1939 and which German authorities uncovered in 2012 among a secret collection of 1,4…
Exclusive: Russia wants IMF to move ahead on reforms without U.S. – sources
WASHINGTON/MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian officials are pushing for the International Monetary Fund to move ahead with planned reforms without the United States, which could mean the loss of the U.S. veto over major decisions at the global lender, sources …
Kashmir students in India in trouble after cheering Pakistani cricketers
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – A group of Kashmiri university students who cheered for Pakistan during a cricket match against India have been charged with disturbing communal harmony, police in India’s Uttar Pradesh state said on Thursday.
Cuba agrees to open talks with EU on new political accord
HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuba accepted a proposal by the European Union to open negotiations on a new political accord, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez told a news conference in Havana on Thursday.
