Kerry looks forward to ‘good meeting’ between major powers, Iran
NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he looked forward to a “good meeting” with Iran and major powers on Thursday but would not address what Iran needed to do to show a genuine desire to address its nuclear program.
Shabaab finances face squeeze after Kenya attack
DUBAI (Reuters) – Al Shabaab emerged as a regional threat funded by millions of dollars from activities ranging from extortion to taxing charcoal exports, but its attack on a Kenyan shopping mall is expected to provoke a counter-terrorism response aime…
Hollande returns to face ‘betrayed’ Florange steel unions
FLORANGE, France (Reuters) – President Francois Hollande, seeking to regain the support of steel workers angered over his failure to stave off redundancies, said on Thursday he would return to their plant every year to ensure promised investment went a…
Italy president slams center-right for resignation threat
ROME (Reuters) – Italian President Giorgio Napolitano on Thursday said if center-right lawmakers resigned to protest against Silvio Berlusconi being stripped of his Senate seat after a tax-fraud conviction, they would undermine the workings of parliame…
Iraqi consulate in Damascus hit by mortar shell
DAMASCUS (Reuters) – A mortar shell hit the Iraqi consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus on Thursday, killing an Iraqi woman and wounding four other people, witnesses said.
Former Iran president urges release of all political prisoners
DUBAI (Reuters) – Reformist former president Mohammad Khatami called for all political prisoners in Iran to be freed following a decision to pardon 80 people in an easing of the Islamic Republic’s strict security policies.
Held by Pakistan, ex-Afghan Taliban commander’s touted peace role in doubt
ISLAMABAD/KABUL (Reuters) – A former Afghan Taliban commander, who Pakistan said had been released at the weekend, is being held under virtual house arrest by his Pakistani handlers who watch his movements and listen to his phone calls, an arrangement …
Bahrain stung by Obama comment on sectarian tensions
DUBAI (Reuters) – Bahrain voiced disappointment with President Barack Obama’s description of the kingdom as beset by sectarian tension, arguing its problem was with “terrorists” who fomented division.
Exclusive: Greece does not need third bailout, seeks debt ‘reprofiling’ – deputy PM
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Greece does not require a third bailout and can cover its needs without further burdening its current backers, by improving the terms of its debt and possibly returning to the bond market next year, the country’s deputy prime minis…
Poor and desperate, Syrian refugees beg on Yemen’s streets
SANAA/ADEN, Yemen (Reuters) – Fleeing the bloodshed and destruction of civil war in Syria, Yosra Mustafa and 15 members of her extended family crossed into Turkey, but found life there too expensive. They tried their luck with Jordan, but were refused …
