Fallen baron fuels debate in Germany from NY exile
BERLIN (Reuters) – No German politician of the post-war era has had such a meteoric rise, and precipitous fall from grace, as Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, the Bavarian baron who fled Berlin for New York in 2011, his career in tatters over accusations of…
Angola denies report that Dos Santos treated for cancer in Spain
LUANDA (Reuters) – Angola on Friday denied a report by Portuguese state TV that the oil-producing African state’s long-serving President Jose Eduardo dos Santos was undergoing cancer treatment in Spain.
China to start making new officials disclose assets
BEIJING (Reuters) – China is to launch a pilot program to make new officials disclose their assets as part of an anti-graft campaign, the Communist Party’s anti-corruption watchdog said on Friday.
Isolation fuels radicalization in arid north Cameroon
DOUGUI, Cameroon, Nov 29 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Nafisa Isa lost her home when a dam broke and flooded her village. Now she and her children live in a camp, threatened by malnutrition and malaria. But Nafisa doesn’t want a hospital – she wants a…
Philippine cenbank confident of rebounding from Typhoon blow
MANILA (Reuters) – As the Philippines gets down to the daunting task of rebuilding after this month’s destructive typhoon, the nation’s central bank said it stood ready to support the economy beyond the initial hit to growth from the catastrophic storm…
Large majority of Germans see SPD backing Merkel coalition: poll
BERLIN (Reuters) – Roughly three out of four Germans expect grassroots members of the Social Democrats (SPD) to approve a new coalition government with Angela Merkel’s conservatives in a party vote over the coming weeks, according to a poll published o…
Media tycoon Saban says dreams of Hillary Clinton as U.S. president
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli-American media tycoon Haim Saban, a major donor to the U.S. Democratic party, said on Friday he would back former secretary of state Hillary Clinton with his “full might” should she run for president in 2016.
Turkey, Iraqi Kurdistan sign landmark energy contracts
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan signed a package of landmark contracts earlier this week that will see the semi-autonomous region’s oil and gas exported via pipelines through Turkey, sources close to the deal told Reuters on Friday.
‘Security’ swimming pool lands South Africa’s Zuma in hot water
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s top official anti-graft watchdog is recommending President Jacob Zuma repay some of a $21 million publicly funded “security upgrade” to his private home, which included a swimming pool and marquee area, a newspap…
Huge Bangladesh fire destroys key garments factory
DHAKA (Reuters) – A huge fire on Friday destroyed a Bangladesh garment factory supplying key Western brands, authorities said, in a blaze touched off by workers angered over rumors of a colleague’s death in police firing.
