Afghanistan, Iran plan cooperation pact amid tensions with U.S.
KABUL (Reuters) – Afghan President Hamid Karzai agreed on a cooperation pact with Iran on Sunday, an Afghan official said, while continuing to resist signing a long-term security agreement with the United States.
South Africans remember Mandela with praise and prayers
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – With hymns and eulogies, South Africans of all colors and creeds remembered Nelson Mandela in a day of prayers on Sunday, holding him up as a symbol of freedom, forgiveness and hope for the nation and the world.
Egyptian police stage rare protest in defiance of new law
CAIRO (Reuters) – Hundreds of Egyptian police rallied on Sunday to demand higher wages, in a rare act of defiance of a new protest law which they themselves have been enforcing to quell unrest on the streets.
Assad’s forces kill five children in Syria: activists
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have killed at least five children during fighting for the town of Nabak north of the capital Damascus, activists said on Sunday.
Netanyahu partner urges peace deal with Palestinians
TEL AVIV (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s main coalition partner publicly prodded him on Sunday to show “historic courage” and reach a peace deal with the Palestinians even at the risk of his government’s collapse.
U.S. defense chief to visit Pakistan for talks with prime minister
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will travel to Pakistan on Monday for talks with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and other senior officials, the first Pentagon chief to make such a visit in nearly four years, a spokesman said.
Car bomb kills one and wounds five in Libya’s Benghazi
BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) – One person was killed and five wounded in Libya’s eastern city Benghazi on Sunday when a car bomb exploded at a funeral for an assassinated army officer, security and medical sources said.
China bans shark fin dinners, suites for officials in latest crackdown
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese authorities have banned shark fin and bird’s nest soup from official receptions and told lower level officials they cannot stay in suites on business trips in the latest step in a crackdown on extravagance and waste.
South Korea expands air defense zone to partially overlap China’s
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea said on Sunday it has extended its air defense zone to partially overlap with a similar zone declared by China two weeks ago that has sharply raised regional tensions.
Thai PM proposes referendum on her future as protesters prepare big push
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra proposed a referendum on her future on Sunday and promised to resign if that was what the people wanted, as anti-government protesters prepared for a final push to try to force her from power….
