Uganda calls for Congo ceasefire as peace talks progress
KAMPALA/RUMANGABO, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nov 1 (Reuters) – Uganda called on the Congolese army and M23 rebels to cease fire on Friday as peace talks progressed in Kampala to end a 20-month conflict.
Bulgaria’s ruling group challenges land purchases ban
SOFIA (Reuters) – Bulgaria’s ruling alliance asked the country’s top court on Friday to quash a widely criticized ban on arable land acquisitions by foreigners to avert infringement action by the European Union.
China’s economy to sustain ‘mid- to high-speed’ growth: premier
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s economy will keep growing at mid- to high speed in coming years, Premier Li Keqiang said on Friday, promising to lead the world’s second-largest economy on a road of “comprehensive reform”.
Grenade blast in Russian courthouse kills two
MOSCOW (Reuters) – A man facing an assault charge detonated a grenade in a courthouse in Russia on Friday, killing himself and a court officer and wounding two other people, state authorities said.
UK phone-hacking trial hears editor wrote ‘do his phone’
LONDON (Reuters) – Andy Coulson, then editor of Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World, instructed a journalist working on a story about a celebrity to “do his phone”, a jury trying Coulson and others for phone-hacking was told on Friday.
Turkey, Iran signal thaw in ties amid mutual concern on Syria
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey and Iran said on Friday they had common concerns about the increasingly sectarian nature of Syria’s civil war, signaling a thaw in a key Middle Eastern relationship strained by stark differences over the conflict.
China’s Xinhua says ‘Peeping Tom’ U.S. risks own security by spying on allies
BEIJING (Reuters) – The United States country risks its own security by refusing to trust even its own friends and spying on its allies, China’s official Xinhua news agency said on Friday, labeling the latest revelations heart-stoppingly fascinating.
Kerry to make first trip to Egypt since Mursi’s ouster
CAIRO (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Egypt on Sunday for the first time since the army toppled the country’s first freely elected president on July 3, state news agency MENA said.
Syria military base blasts said to be Israeli strike
AMMAN/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Syrian rebels and a U.S. official cited by CNN said on Thursday Israel had mounted a new attack on a Syrian military base but the Israeli government declined to confirm any strike.
Two life sentences for rape, murder that shocked South Africa
SWELLENDAM, South Africa (Reuters) – A South African court sentenced a man to two life terms on Friday for the rape, mutilation and murder of a teenager in a case that shocked a nation with one of the world’s highest levels of violent crime.
