Lebanon PM-designate gives Hezbollah bloc deadline to join cabinet
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanon’s prime minister-designate threatened to form a new government without Hezbollah soon unless the powerful group’s allies agree to his proposed cabinet, a senior political source said on Friday.
Pakistan suspends Shi’ite pilgrimage route to Iran
QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) – Pakistan has suspended buses carrying Shi’ite pilgrims from travelling through its volatile Baluchistan province to neighboring Iran due to security concerns after a suicide attack killed 27 pilgrims this week, officials sa…
North Korea proposes reunions of families separated in war with South
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea on Friday proposed reunions of families separated since the Korean War six decades ago, continuing its latest campaign of reconciliation that included a call for the South and the United States to cancel joint military dri…
Leading China activist to be sentenced on Sunday as others go on trial
HONG KONG (Reuters) – A Beijing court will sentence prominent Chinese rights activist Xu Zhiyong on Sunday in a high-profile dissident trial, as authorities targeted rights defenders nationwide with another activist standing trial in Guangzhou.
Clash or compromise near on Iraqi-Kurdish-Turkish oil dispute
ARBIL/BAGHDAD/ANKARA (Reuters) – A headlong collision across Middle East fault lines is drawing close as Turkey, Iraq and ethnic Kurds who run their own region in between wrangle over oil exports.
Nigeria’s Boko Haram kills 18 in village attacks: witnesses
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) – Nigerian Islamists killed 18 people and burned dozens of houses in attacks on two villages in remote northeastern Borno state, witnesses said on Friday, despite a military offensive aimed at stemming violence in vulnerabl…
India Supreme Court orders investigation after tribal rape outcry
KOLKATA (Reuters) – India’s Supreme Court on Friday ordered an investigation into the gang rape of a 20-year-old woman from an eastern tribal region by 13 men on the orders of a village court, a case that has sparked protests demanding swift justice.
Thai court ruling adds to mounting pressure on PM Yingluck
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s Constitutional Court on Friday opened the way to put off a general election the government has set for February 2, piling pressure on Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra who looks increasingly cornered by legal challenges …
French army kills 11 suspected militants in northern Mali
BAMAKO (Reuters) – French forces killed at least 11 suspected Islamist fighters and seized large amounts of weapons and ammunition during an operation in Mali’s northern region of Timbuktu, a French army source in Mali said on Friday.
South Sudan looters steal food to feed 220,000 for a month: U.N.
GENEVA (Reuters) – Looters in South Sudan have stolen more than 3,700 tonnes of food, enough to feed 220,000 people for a month, the World Food Programme said on Friday.
