Insight: At Syrian peace table, embittered enemies face off
GENEVA (Reuters) – When Syria’s political foes met across a negotiating table for the first time in nearly three years of conflict, the top priority was to keep them from walking out.
Tunisia appeals for support in last steps towards democracy
TUNIS (Reuters) – Tunisia’s new Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa on Tuesday appealed to the international community for financial support to help the North African country take the last steps in its transition to a full democracy.
U.N. nuclear inspectors in Iran to visit uranium mine
DUBAI/VIENNA (Reuters) – U.N. nuclear inspectors arrived in Iran on Tuesday to visit a uranium mine, Iranian media reported, as part of a cooperation pact meant to help allay international concern about the country’s nuclear program.
India’s Gandhi under attack over remarks on Sikh riots
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s opposition criticized ruling party leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday for avoiding any expression of regret for the killings of Sikhs in riots three decades ago, a sensitive issue that threatens to dog him in a tight election …
Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant to shut within days to refuel: IRNA
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran’s first nuclear power plant at Bushehr is expected to shut down in the next few days for an annual refueling outage, the IRNA news agency reported on Tuesday.
Israel, Abbas spar over Palestinian security steps in West Bank
TEL AVIV (Reuters) – Israel and the Palestinians disagreed sharply on Tuesday over the effectiveness of security measures by the regional Palestinian administration in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, deepening doubt about peace prospects in U.S.-broker…
Thailand to go ahead with election despite fear of clashes, political limbo
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s embattled government is pushing ahead with a general election on Sunday despite warnings it could end in violence and the country left without a functioning administration for six months.
British PM Cameron’s ex-media chief knew of phone-hacking, court hears
LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister David Cameron’s former media chief Andy Coulson listened to a recording of a voicemail obtained by phone-hacking when he was editor of the now defunct News of the World tabloid, a former reporter told a London …
South African opposition DA drafts in black figurehead for vote
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – Anti-apartheid activist Mamphela Ramphele will run for president for the Democratic Alliance (DA) in this year’s South African election, giving the main opposition party a prominent black figurehead to challenge the ruling ANC.
Iraq says Syria war spillover hinders oilfields, pipelines
LONDON (Reuters) – Spillover attacks from the civil war in Syria have hindered development of Iraq’s gas and oil reserves and a major pipeline to the Mediterranean has been blown up dozens of times, Iraq’s top energy official said on Tuesday.
