Hamas polices seas as tunnel smuggling suffers
GAZA (Reuters) – Hamas marine forces in Gaza foiled an attempt by residents to smuggle a car from Egypt on Monday, a police spokesman said, signaling a new area of illicit trade as the Egyptian army cracks down on border tunnels.
Syria opposition accepts peace talks, says Assad must go
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Syria’s Western-backed opposition agreed on Monday to attend planned peace talks in Geneva but said President Bashar al-Assad could play no part in a transitional government aimed at ending the 2-1/2-year-old civil war.
Thailand braces for trouble as U.N. court backs Cambodia in border row
THE HAGUE/BANGKOK (Reuters) – A U.N. court ruled in favor of Cambodia on Monday in a long-running dispute with Thailand over jurisdiction of land around an ancient temple, a decision that threatens to add fuel to a deepening political standoff in Bangk…
Britain revives ties with Iran, two years after embassy attack
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain said on Monday it had revived diplomatic relations with Iran and appointed a non-resident charge d’affaires, two years after an angry mob ransacked the British embassy in Tehran.
Iran appoints charge d’affaires to Britain: Mehr news agency
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran on Monday appointed a new charge d’affaires to Britain to revive diplomatic ties that were broken off after radical students stormed the British embassy in Tehran in 2011, Mehr news agency said.
France’s Hollande booed at tribute to fallen WWI soldiers
PARIS (Reuters) – French police arrested about 70 people at an Armistice Day memorial ceremony on Monday after protesters who the government said were linked to the far right booed President Francois Hollande.
Former Russian tycoon held in Cambodia at Moscow’s request
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) – Cambodian police arrested Russian real estate tycoon Sergei Polonsky on Monday for the second time this year and said they planned to extradite him at Moscow’s request to face embezzlement charges there.
Insight: Rebel defeat boosts Kabila but peace in Congo a distant prospect
KINSHASA (Reuters) – The defeat of Democratic Republic of Congo’s most important rebel group has strengthened President Joseph Kabila’s grip on political power, but bringing peace to his vast central African nation remains a remote prospect.
NATO arrests suspects in foiled Indian Ocean ship attack
MOMBASA, Kenya (Reuters) – Nine suspected pirates have been arrested on suspicion of trying to hijack a Danish refined oil and chemical carrier in the Indian Ocean on Sunday, NATO’s regional anti-piracy force said on Monday.
Analysis: Russia’s phantom pain to hurt Ukraine in EU pact
PARIS (Reuters) – When Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov was trying to warn former Soviet satellite Poland against joining the U.S.-led NATO military alliance in the 1990s, he laced gallows humor with veiled menace.