Aide to North Korean leader’s ousted uncle seeks asylum in South: media
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea could be facing its most serious defection in 15 years as South Korean media said on Friday that a man who managed funds for the ousted uncle of leader Kim Jong Un had fled the isolated country and sought asylum in South K…
Hagel reassures Gulf allies U.S. committed to regional security
MANAMA (Reuters) – Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel toured a U.S. warship in the Gulf on Friday and declared Washington’s commitment to Middle East security, despite policy differences over Iran and Syria that have angered Gulf allies.
France agrees to help African nations set up military force
PARIS (Reuters) – France agreed on Friday to help African nations create a joint military force to tackle coups, wars and rebellions on the continent, after the former colonial power was forced into its second military operation in Africa this year.
Clashes break out in Athens on anniversary of teenager’s killing
ATHENS (Reuters) – Police and protesters clashed in Athens on Friday on the fifth anniversary of the killing of a teenager by police, an incident that sparked Greece’s worst riots for decades.
Central African Republic clashes killed at least 281: Red Cross
BANGUI (Reuters) – The Red Cross in Central African Republic has collected the bodies of 281 people killed during two days of violence in the capital Bangui, the organization’s president said on Friday.
Afghanistan won’t bow to U.S. ‘pressure’ over security pact: official
KABUL (Reuters) – A senior aide to Afghan President Hamid Karzai accused the United States on Friday of trying to pressure elements of his government to accept a security deal that would shape the post-2014 U.S. military presence in the country.
Egyptian police fire tear gas to end clashes in Cairo
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian police used tear gas on Friday to end clashes in Cairo between supporters and opponents of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Mursi, the state news agency MENA said.
Jordan elected to take Saudi seat on U.N. Security Council
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The 193-member U.N. General Assembly elected Jordan to the U.N. Security Council on Friday to replace Saudi Arabia, which rejected its two-year term in protest at the council’s failure to end the war in Syria and act on other…
Defying protesters, Ukraine’s Yanukovich meets Putin on pact
KIEV (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich met Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Friday to lay the grounds for a new “strategic partnership” to shore up Ukraine’s creaking economy in defiance of protesters back home enraged by his U-turn away from…
SPD secures enough votes on coalition deal to ensure its validity
BERLIN (Reuters) – More than one in three members of Germany’s center-left Social Democrats (SPD) has already voted on a proposed coalition deal with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives, ensuring the internal party referendum will be valid.
