Nuclear deal with Iran not close: senior Western diplomat
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – A senior western diplomat cautioned on Thursday that any breakthrough in diplomacy over Iran’s nuclear program was not “close”, seeking to dampen expectations the next round of talks on November 7-8 could lead to a deal.
Spate of attacks on Shi’ite Muslims kills 59 people in Iraq
MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) – Attacks on Shi’ite Muslims killed at least 59 people across Iraq on Thursday, including a suicide truck bomb targeting members of the country’s Shabak minority, police and medics said.
Obama, Italy’s Letta compare notes on budget woes
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama and Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta congratulated each other on Thursday for surviving extended budget crises and pledged to work together to advance U.S.-EU trade talks and address security issues.
Rebel snipers kill high-ranking Syrian general
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Rebel snipers killed a top-ranking general in Syrian military intelligence on Thursday, state television and opposition activists said.
Pirate attacks by heavily armed gangs surge off Nigerian coast
LONDON (Reuters) – Pirate attacks off Nigeria’s coast have jumped by a third this year with ships passing through West Africa’s Gulf of Guinea, a major commodities hub, increasingly under threat from gangs wanting to snatch cargoes and crews.
Renamo rebels kill seven Mozambique soldiers: local media
MAPUTO (Reuters) – Suspected Renamo guerrillas killed seven Mozambican soldiers in an ambush on Thursday near the former rebel group’s remote mountain hideout, local media said, the latest flare-up in a simmering insurgency.
Italy’s Monti quits party as budget opposition mounts
ROME (Reuters) – Former Prime Minister Mario Monti on Thursday left the party he founded this year as political tensions over Italy’s 2014 budget raised a new threat to the stability of Enrico Letta’s government.
Palestinian rams digger into Israel army base, shot dead: military
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian after he rammed a mechanical digger through the gate of an army base in the occupied West Bank near Jerusalem on Thursday, an Israeli military spokeswoman said.
Saudi, Chad, Nigeria, Chile, Lithuania elected to U.N. Security Council
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia, Chad and Nigeria were elected by the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday to serve a two-year term on the U.N. Security Council as human rights groups called for all three countries to improve their records.
Merkel to enter full coalition talks with center-left SPD
BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) agreed on Thursday to begin formal negotiations on a grand coalition government that is likely to ramp up public investment and introduce a mi…
