Rwandan court extends jail term of opposition politician
NAIROBI (Reuters) – Rwanda’s supreme court extended the jail term of an opposition politician on Friday to 15 years from eight after she sought to overturn her initial conviction for trying to undermine the state and minimizing the 1994 genocide.
High prospects for Uruguay’s legal marijuana business
MONTEVIDEO (Reuters) – Uruguay’s pioneering move to legalize the planting and sale of marijuana opens the door for a clandestine cottage industry of pot growers to transform into a legitimate business that could even export medical cannabis, a commodit…
Ukraine’s Yanukovich to hold talks on political crisis
KIEV (Reuters) – President Viktor Yanukovich, facing mass protests calling for his resignation, will hold talks on Friday on finding a way out of a political crisis that is weighing on Ukraine’s weak economy.
Challenging third term looms for Germany’s Merkel
BERLIN (Reuters) – Nearly three months since an election forced her into coalition talks with rival Social Democrats (SPD), Angela Merkel is on the verge of securing a third term, a feat achieved by only two other German chancellors in the post-war era…
Iran angry over U.S. sanctions, nuclear talks interrupted
VIENNA/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Iran’s anger over a new U.S. sanctions measure may have been behind its move to interrupt talks with world powers over how to implement last month’s breakthrough nuclear agreement, two diplomats said on Friday.
African Union approves big increase in Central African Republic force
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – The African Union has authorized increasing an African force being deployed to Central African Republic to 6,000 troops from 2,500, a senior AU official told Reuters on Friday.
Greenpeace says Russia won’t let activists go home
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian investigators have indicated foreign activists facing trial for a protest against Arctic oil drilling cannot leave the country, meaning they won’t be home for Christmas despite an international court ruling, Greenpeace said o…
Tunisia’s Islamists, opposition to name premier
TUNIS (Reuters) – Tunisia’s ruling Islamists and their opponents were set to name a prime minister on Friday to head a caretaker administration until elections next year that would put the nation’s post-revolt transition back on track.
Fukushima contractor sanctioned by Japan labor regulator
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese labor regulators have sanctioned a construction firm involved in the decommissioning of the Fukushima nuclear power plant for improperly employing workers to repair another nuclear plant, also damaged by the 2011 earthquake.
Nigeria’s Boko Haram claims northeast barracks attack
KADUNA, Nigeria (Reuters) – Nigerian Islamist sect Boko Haram was behind a coordinated attack on military targets this month, the group’s leader has said in a video message lauding the group’s successes against President Goodluck Jonathan’s army.
