South African ex-union official gunned down on volatile platinum belt
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Attackers gunned down a former senior union official at platinum producer Lonmin, stoking political and industrial tensions on South Africa’s volatile platinum belt.
Kosovo to repeat vote in Serb stronghold, challenging hardliners
PRISTINA (Reuters) – Authorities in Kosovo said on Wednesday they would repeat a municipal election in a small ethnic Serb stronghold, paving the way for a showdown with Serb hardliners opposed to EU-backed efforts to end the country’s de facto ethnic …
Tajik leader extending long rule in volatile region
DUSHANBE (Reuters) – Tajik President Imomali Rakhmon looked set to win a new seven-year term on Wednesday, demonstrating his grip on a Muslim Central Asian state beset by poverty and facing security threats from neighboring Afghanistan.
In Assad’s Damascus, Syrians fall prey to gun law
DAMASCUS (Reuters) – When armed men appeared at a home in the northern Damascus district of Rukn al-Din, they told the elderly woman who answered the door they were state security forces carrying out a routine inspection.
Israel’s Lieberman rejoining government after acquittal
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed his former foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, back to government on Wednesday after the ultra-nationalist politician was acquitted of corruption charges.
Anti-austerity strike brings Greece to a halt during troika visit
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greek schools shut and flights were disrupted as workers held a general strike on Wednesday to protest austerity imposed by foreign lenders, whose inspectors were in Athens to review the country’s performance under its bailout.
Exclusive: Chaos in Libya brings trouble importing food
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Payments problems, chaos and corruption are hampering Libyan importers from making big deals to buy wheat, another setback as the country spins out of control two years after dictator Muammar Gaddafi was toppled by rebels and NATO w…
Gunmen shoot dead Iran prosecutor in unruly southeast
DUBAI (Reuters) – Gunmen shot dead a public prosecutor and his driver in southeastern Iran on Wednesday, Iranian media said, less than two weeks after militants killed 14 Iranian border guards nearby and Tehran retaliated by hanging 16 prisoners.
Myanmar set to release dozens of political prisoners: panel member
YANGON (Reuters) – Myanmar may release scores of political prisoners this month to fulfil a promise by its reformist president to free prisoners of conscience by the end of this year, a member of a state-appointed panel said on Wednesday.
Israel’s Lieberman cleared of corruption charges
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Former Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, a key ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was cleared of corruption charges in court on Wednesday, paving the way for a political comeback.
