Congo rules out amnesty for top M23 rebels
KINSHASA (Reuters) – Democratic Republic of Congo has ruled out granting amnesty to some 100 senior M23 rebels, it said on Thursday, leaving open the possibility that these commanders could be pursued even after peace talks are concluded.
Hurricane Manuel lashes northwest Mexico as storm misery spreads
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Hurricane Manuel lashed Mexico’s northwest coast with heavy rains on Thursday, prompting evacuations amid the threat of fresh flash floods that storms have unleashed across Mexico, killing at least 81 people.
Hurricane Manuel lashes northwest Mexico as storm misery spreads
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Hurricane Manuel lashed Mexico’s northwest coast with heavy rains on Thursday, prompting evacuations amid the threat of fresh flash floods that storms have unleashed across Mexico, killing at least 81 people.
Eurosceptics poised for German breakthrough, hurting Merkel
BERLIN (Reuters) – A new Eurosceptical party is on the brink of entering the German parliament for the first time, an opinion poll showed, casting doubt on Chancellor Angela Merkel’s bid to maintain her center-right coalition and complicating her euro …
Russia’s Putin does not rule out seeking re-election in 2018
VALDAI, Russia (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he had not ruled out running for a fourth term in an election due in 2018.
Iran security elite told to shun politics as nuclear talks loom
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran’s clerical leadership has told security hardliners to stay out of politics, in effect instructing them not to wreck the new centrist government’s attempt to solve an intractable nuclear dispute with West.
Bitter Spaniards to vote in German poll with ‘donated’ ballots
BERLIN (Reuters) – Spaniards and Greeks bitter about tough austerity measures in their countries for which they blame German Chancellor Angela Merkel hope to oust her in Sunday’s national election by using ballots ‘donated’ by German voters.
Iran’s Rouhani says wants peace, blames Israel for region’s ‘instability’
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, in a television interview, said his country is not seeking war but harshly criticized Israel for bringing “instability” to the Middle East and for questioning his government’s intentions toward n…
Critic of Azeri President Aliyev arrested before election
BAKU (Reuters) – A prominent critic of Azeri President Ilham Aliyev has been jailed for two months, in a ruling his lawyer said was aimed at silencing him before next month’s presidential election.
Saudi women driving ban not part of sharia-morality police chief
RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s ban on women driving is not mandated by any text in Sharia, the Islamic legal code which forms the basis for most Saudi law, the head of its morality police told Reuters on Thursday.