Chile’s Pinera says not planning a presidential comeback
SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Chilean President Sebastian Pinera said on Thursday he is not grooming for a 2017 re-election bid, likely curbing months of speculation that the unpopular conservative may be eyeing a comeback.
Egyptian army chief Sisi does not rule out presidential bid
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who led the overthrow of President Mohamed Mursi, held open the possibility he might run for the presidency in an interview published on Thursday.
Berlusconi ‘directed’ bunga bunga sex parties: court
MILAN (Reuters) – Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was the ringmaster of “bunga bunga” sex parties at his luxurious villa near Milan, giving the go-ahead for young women to perform pole dances and stripteases, according to a court docume…
Second cyclone in six weeks to hit India’s east coast on Friday
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – A hundred thousand residents were being evacuated from coastal areas of India’s southeastern Andhra Pradesh state as a cyclone swirling in the Bay of Bengal was forecast to make landfall late on Friday with wind speeds up to 120 k…
French troops kill deputy to veteran Islamist Belmokhtar
BAMAKO (Reuters) – French special forces have killed the second-in-command of the veteran Islamist commander Mokhtar Belmokhtar in an operation in Mali’s northern region of Tessalit, security sources said on Thursday.
Iraq militia says fires mortar bombs at Saudi as warning
RIYADH/BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Six mortar bombs landed near a border post in northern Saudi Arabia in an attack claimed by an Iranian-backed Iraqi Shi’ite militia, which said on Thursday it was warning the kingdom to stop meddling in Iraqi affairs.
Fire sale TVs and Chavez-style theatrics heat up Venezuela vote
CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is firing up supporters for the upcoming mayors’ election through a theatrical confrontation with businesses that has showered voters with cheap consumer goods, echoing the style of late socialist…
Myanmar rejects U.N. resolution on Rohingya Muslims
YANGON (Reuters) – Myanmar rejected on Thursday a U.N. resolution urging it to grant citizenship to the Rohingya, a stateless Muslim minority group, and accused the United Nations of impinging on its sovereignty.
U.S. drone kills senior militant in Pakistani seminary
PESHAWAR, Pakistan/KABUL (Reuters) – A suspected U.S. drone strike on an Islamic seminary in Pakistan killed a senior member of the Taliban-linked Haqqani network early on Thursday, Pakistani and Afghan sources said.
Iran nuclear deal may reduce, not eliminate, any bomb breakout risk
GENEVA (Reuters) – An interim deal to restrain Iran’s nuclear program aims to make it harder for the Islamic state to build any bomb but may still leave it, at least for now, with enough material for several nuclear warheads if refined to a high degree…
