Pakistan quake toll reaches 515, insurgents hamper aid efforts
AWARAN, Pakistan (Reuters) – The death toll from an earthquake in southwestern Pakistan has reached 515, a provincial official said Friday, as insurgent attacks threaten relief efforts and survivors complain of lack of shelter from the scorching sun.
Britain says in talks with Iran about reopening embassies
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain and Iran have started talks aimed at restoring diplomatic relations two years after an angry mob ransacked the British embassy, Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Tuesday.
French police detain suspected Islamist sent from Pakistan
PARIS (Reuters) – A Frenchman held in Pakistan for months on suspicion of training Islamist militants was detained for questioning by French police on his return home, an official at the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Tuesday.
Egypt Brotherhood leader warned of violence before Mursi’s overthrow: report
CAIRO (Reuters) – The army chief behind the military takeover in Egypt said the Muslim Brotherhood had warned him of attacks if Islamist President Mohamed Mursi were removed from power, an Egyptian newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Putin critic sentenced to detention in psychiatric ward
MOSCOW (Reuters) – A Russian court on Tuesday ordered a critic of President Vladimir Putin confined to a psychiatric ward indefinitely over clashes with police at a protest, a ruling likened by rights activists to abuses of psychiatry during the Soviet…
Germany’s Greens elect new leaders before talks with Merkel
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s Greens party picked two new leaders on Tuesday to spearhead talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives this week that could usher in a historic coalition government between the erstwhile political enemies.
Guinea opposition withdraws from U.N.-backed talks
CONAKRY (Reuters) – Guinea’s opposition walked out of U.N.-backed talks with the government on Tuesday, accusing it of rigging last week’s legislative elections and deepening fears of a return to violence.
Putin demands Dutch apology after diplomat detained by police
NUSA DUA, Indonesia (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin demanded an apology from the Netherlands on Tuesday after Dutch police detained the Russian embassy’s second-ranking diplomat at his home, following a complaint by neighbors.
U.S. target in Somalia plotted serial Kenya attacks: spy report
NAIROBI (Reuters) – Ikrima, the militant targeted by U.S. special forces in a failed weekend raid, is a Somali-based thinker, planner and operator who has relentlessly plotted attacks on neighboring Kenya, intelligence services and analysts believe.
Momentum for diplomacy hides chasm between Syrian foes
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Diplomatic momentum is building to bring Syria’s warring parties together for peace talks, but with Bashar al-Assad in no mood for concessions and his opponents still deeply divided there is little prospect for an early end to the ca…
