Karzai to advise delaying U.S.-Afghan pact in closing speech: spokesman
KABUL (Reuters) – Afghan President Hamid Karzai will call for a security pact with the United States to be delayed until after an April election when he gives a closing speech to a grand assembly that will decide on the deal, his spokesman said on Satu…
Pakistan militants kidnap 11 teachers in polio vaccination campaign
KABUL (Reuters) – Militants kidnapped 11 Pakistani teachers involved in a polio vaccination campaign for school children on Saturday, officials said, the latest in a string of attacks on health workers trying to eradicate the deadly disease.
Family of U.S. man detained in North Korea appeals for his release
(Reuters) – The California family of a Korean War veteran held in North Korean custody since last month appealed to the Pyongyang government on Friday for his safe return, calling his detention during a sightseeing trip a “dreadful misunderstanding.”
U.S. concerned about Nicaragua plan to end presidential term limits
MANAGUA (Reuters) – The United States on Friday criticized a proposal by Nicaragua’s ruling party to remove presidential term limits, which could allow Washington’s former Cold War adversary Daniel Ortega to stay in power indefinitely.
Indonesia, Australia spy claim tension spreads to corporate world
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Rising diplomatic tension between Australia and Indonesia spread into the corporate world on Friday when a state-owned Indonesian firm suspended talks with Australian cattle farmers, citing trust issues between the neighbors.
Death toll jumps over 50 in Latvian supermarket collapse
RIGA (Reuters) – Rescue workers pulled bodies from the ruins of a collapsed supermarket in the Latvian capital Riga on Friday as the death toll rose to 51 in the Baltic state’s worst disaster in decades.
World Bank raises Philippine typhoon aid package to almost $1 billion
MANILA (Reuters) – The World Bank said it raised to almost $1 billion its financial aid package to support relief and reconstruction in typhoon-devastated areas in the central Philippines, as the toll of death and destruction kept rising more than two …
Kerry to join Iran nuclear talks in bid to reach deal
GENEVA (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will join talks on Iran’s nuclear program in Geneva on Saturday, as Tehran and six world powers appeared to be on the verge of an elusive breakthrough in the decade-old dispute.
France’s Hollande to make state visit to U.S. next year
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – French President Francois Hollande and first lady Valerie Trierweiler will make a state visit to the United States in February, the White House said on Friday.
Afghanistan rejects U.S. call for quick security deal
KABUL (Reuters) – The future of U.S. troops in Afghanistan remained in doubt on Friday after a spokesman for President Hamid Karzai rejected a U.S. call to sign a security pact by the end of the year rather than after next year’s presidential election….
