Syrian presidential election law excludes most opposition leaders
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syria’s parliament has set residency rules for presidential candidates, state media said on Friday, a move that would bar many of President Bashar al-Assad’s foes who live in exile as the uprising in the major Arab state enters its f…
Al Qaeda splinter group in Syria leaves two provinces – activists
BEIRUT (Reuters) – An al Qaeda splinter group in Syria pulled out of two provinces in the country’s northwest on Friday and headed to its eastern strongholds after months of clashes with rival rebels, activists said.
Hugely popular Jakarta governor named as Indonesia presidential candidate
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s main opposition PDI-P party named Jakarta governor Joko Widodo as its presidential candidate on Friday, the man widely seen as a shoo-in to be next leader of the world’s third-largest democracy.
Policeman killed, three wounded in shooting near Bulgarian school
SOFIA (Reuters) – A Bulgarian policeman was killed and three officers wounded in a shootout with an armed man who had threatened the pupils and the headmaster of a school in the central town of Lyaskovets, police said on Friday.
Saudis hardened by wars in Syria, Iraq join al Qaeda in Yemen
SANAA (Reuters) – Dozens of Saudi Islamist militants have left the battlefields of Syria and Iraq for Yemen, where their experience appears to have contributed to a spate of lethal al Qaeda attacks, a senior Yemeni security official said.
Well-known Chinese dissident dies after being denied treatment
BEIJING (Reuters) – Prominent Chinese human rights activist Cao Shunli, detained in September for staging sit-ins at the country’s foreign ministry, has died, a fellow dissident and one of her lawyers said on Friday, after she was denied medical treatm…
Morocco says breaks up militant cell sending fighters abroad
RABAT (Reuters) – Morocco has dismantled an Islamist militant cell led by a Spanish citizen that sent fighters to “hotbeds of tension” abroad, the interior ministry said on Friday.
France’s Sarkozy wins battle to pull secret recordings
PARIS (Reuters) – A French court on Friday ordered a news website to withdraw recordings an adviser secretly took of ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy during his 2012 election campaign.
Latvia PM to fire minister over plan to join SS march
RIGA (Reuters) – Latvia’s prime minister said on Friday she would fire a cabinet colleague planning to march with veterans of the country’s wartime Waffen SS divisions after being warned the event could incite tensions with Russia.
Turkish parliament to reconvene next Weds amid graft scandal
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s parliament will reconvene for an extraordinary session on March 19, its speaker said on Friday, after the main opposition party demanded the recall to hear corruption allegations against four former government ministers.
