Insight: After Syria, al Qaeda expanding in Lebanon
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Faced with recent setbacks in Iraq and Syria, al Qaeda is slowly but firmly gaining influence in Lebanon, helped by the country’s increasing sectarian violence and the turmoil caused by Syria’s civil war, sources close to the group s…
Gunmen kidnap son of Libyan special forces chief
BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) – Gunmen kidnapped the son of the Libyan army’s special forces commander on Thursday, the latest high-profile abduction in the eastern city of Benghazi where the military has been battling Islamist militants.
Exclusive: Disputed Congo report says miners owe $3.7 billion in tax, fines
KINSHASA (Reuters) – Democratic Republic of Congo is owed an estimated $3.7 billion in unpaid customs duties and fines by companies operating in its copper-rich Katanga province between 2008 and 2013, according to an unpublished report commissioned by …
Support crumbles in east Libya for oil blockade leader
AJDABIYA, Libya (Reuters) – Support is ebbing in east Libya for a six month blockade of its three oil ports, and for former rebel commander Ibrahim al-Jathran whose force led the seizure.
U.S. urges South Sudan to free last detainees to secure peace
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – The United States called on South Sudan on Thursday to release the last four of a group of detainees held on suspicion of trying to stage a coup, a move that could clear a major sticking point in talks to end weeks of fighting.
Russia says identifies bombers, arrests two in Volgograd blasts
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia has identified two suicide bombers responsible for attacks that killed 34 people in the city of Volgograd last month and arrested two suspected accomplices in the violence-torn Dagestan province, officials said on Thursday.
Ireland PM apologizes for schoolgirl abuse case
DUBLIN (Reuters) – Ireland’s Prime Minister Enda Kenny apologized on Thursday to a woman who suffered sexual abuse by a teacher while at a Catholic-run school in 1973, after a European court ruled the state had failed to protect her.
Insight: Fight for Istanbul likely to shape Turkish political landscape
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Immaculately coiffed with a camera-ready smile, Mustafa Sarigul’s composure cracks a little as his campaign bus swings towards Istanbul’s old city walls.
Feud tarnishes reputation of Turkey’s Erdogan, Gulen: survey
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s feud with U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen has damaged the reputation of both, but Erdogan’s party would still win an election if one were called this weekend, a survey showed on Thursd…
Russia to await new Ukraine government before fully implementing rescue: Putin
MOSCOW/KIEV (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin raised the pressure on Ukraine on Wednesday, saying Russia would wait until it forms a new government before fully implementing a $15 billion bailout deal that Kiev urgently needs.
