Losses for Hollande, far right gains expected in French town-hall vote
PARIS/MARSEILLE (Reuters) – President Francois Hollande’s Socialists fear heavy mid-term losses that could jeopardize reforms and the far-right National Front is seen making major gains when voters elect mayors in towns and villages across France from …
Turkey’s Erdogan threatens to ‘ban the ban’ on his electoral film
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to “ban a ban” imposed on his party’s main campaign video after electoral authorities blocked it for misusing national symbols.
Former top China army officer under house arrest in graft probe: sources
BEIJING (Reuters) – A top retired Chinese general has been put under virtual house arrest while he assists with an investigation into the military’s worst corruption scandal in almost a decade, two sources said, an indication the probe might be expandi…
Two members of security forces killed in attack in southern Turkey
ANKARA (Reuters) – Two members of the security forces were killed on Thursday in the southern Turkish province of Nigde when gunmen opened fire from a truck, local news agencies reported.
Abbas asks U.S. help to free jailed Palestinian leader Barghouti
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has asked Washington to mediate with Israel for the release of Marwan Barghouti, a Palestinian leader and possible presidential contender jailed a decade ago over a spate of suicide bo…
Mali’s former coup leader starts hunger strike over detention
BAMAKO (Reuters) – The leader of a military coup that plunged Mali into chaos two years ago and allowed Islamists to seize its desert north has started a hunger strike to protest against the conditions of his detention, legal and military sources said …
Scores of Syrian rebels flee into Lebanon after ambush
TRIPOLI, Lebanon (Reuters) – Dozens of wounded Syrian rebels crossed over a river into Lebanon on Thursday after government soldiers ambushed them as they tried to flee a besieged area, Lebanese medical sources said.
Russian forces seize two Ukrainian bases in Crimea
SEVASTOPOL, Ukraine/MOSCOW (Reuters) – The United States warned Moscow it was on a “dark path” to isolation on Wednesday as Russian troops seized two Ukrainian naval bases, including a headquarters in the Crimean port of Sevastopol where they raised th…
Four men found guilty of gang-raping photojournalist in Mumbai
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Four men were found guilty on Thursday of the gang-rape of a photojournalist last year in Mumbai, an attack that sparked street protests in the city and raised fresh questions about attitudes to women in the world’s largest…
Egypt investors believe Sisi presidency will bring stability
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian Army chief Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi may not look like a model democrat, but foreign and local businessmen believe he can deliver stability to open up investment opportunities in the most populous Arab nation.
