No threat to tight grip in Turkmenistan from multi-party vote
ALMATY (Reuters) – Turkmenistan’s President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov says Sunday’s parliamentary election is a democratic milestone for his gas-rich nation, but critics say it merely slaps a veneer on what they call a repressive autocracy.
Kerry says he expects Iran nuclear talks to continue shortly
TEL AVIV (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday he expected nuclear talks with Iran to resume in the coming days, saying progress had been made and that consultations were now needed.
Zimbabwe’s ageing Mugabe says party will choose successor
CHINHOYI, Zimbabwe (Reuters) – Zimbabwe’s 89-year-old President Robert Mugabe said on Friday members of his party would choose his eventual replacement, but gave no timeline despite a mounting succession battle triggered by long-denied reports he is su…
Rwandan court extends jail term of opposition politician
NAIROBI (Reuters) – Rwanda’s supreme court extended the jail term of an opposition politician on Friday to 15 years from eight after she sought to overturn her initial conviction for trying to undermine the state and minimizing the 1994 genocide.
High prospects for Uruguay’s legal marijuana business
MONTEVIDEO (Reuters) – Uruguay’s pioneering move to legalize the planting and sale of marijuana opens the door for a clandestine cottage industry of pot growers to transform into a legitimate business that could even export medical cannabis, a commodit…
Ukraine’s Yanukovich to hold talks on political crisis
KIEV (Reuters) – President Viktor Yanukovich, facing mass protests calling for his resignation, will hold talks on Friday on finding a way out of a political crisis that is weighing on Ukraine’s weak economy.
Challenging third term looms for Germany’s Merkel
BERLIN (Reuters) – Nearly three months since an election forced her into coalition talks with rival Social Democrats (SPD), Angela Merkel is on the verge of securing a third term, a feat achieved by only two other German chancellors in the post-war era…
Iran angry over U.S. sanctions, nuclear talks interrupted
VIENNA/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Iran’s anger over a new U.S. sanctions measure may have been behind its move to interrupt talks with world powers over how to implement last month’s breakthrough nuclear agreement, two diplomats said on Friday.
African Union approves big increase in Central African Republic force
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – The African Union has authorized increasing an African force being deployed to Central African Republic to 6,000 troops from 2,500, a senior AU official told Reuters on Friday.
Greenpeace says Russia won’t let activists go home
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian investigators have indicated foreign activists facing trial for a protest against Arctic oil drilling cannot leave the country, meaning they won’t be home for Christmas despite an international court ruling, Greenpeace said o…
