Afghanistan seeks help in drugs fight after opium crop hits record
VIENNA (Reuters) – Afghanistan needs more financial assistance for its anti-narcotics fight after opium cultivation hit a record high last year, a government minister said on Wednesday, as international forces prepare to leave the country.
Iraq draft budget intensifies Kurd oil export row
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi Kurdish ministers walked out of a cabinet session on Wednesday in protest at the country’s draft 2014 budget, further complicating a feud over the autonomous region’s plans to export crude via a new pipeline to Turkey.
ICC excuses Kenya’s deputy president from big parts of Hague trial
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – International Criminal Court judges excused Kenyan deputy president William Ruto from large parts of his trial on charges of crimes against humanity on Wednesday in a ruling that could help defuse tensions with Kenya’s African all…
Syria builds dollar reserves, thanks partly to Assad’s enemies
AMMAN (Reuters) – Syria’s central bank has bought hundreds of millions of dollars from the domestic currency market it now tightly controls, helping to build up depleted reserves for an economy crippled by civil war, bankers and dealers say.
U.N. troops fired warning shots to protect South Sudan compound
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – U.N. peacekeepers fired warning shots to deter fighters from a United Nations base in South Sudan after gunfire reached the compound, wounding dozens and killing at least one civilian seeking refuge there, a U.N. spokesman sa…
Franco-German energy plan to focus on renewables, not mergers
PARIS (Reuters) – French President Francois Hollande’s surprise announcement of a Franco-German energy joint venture did not target major utilities but renewable energy and electricity networks, his aides said on Wednesday.
U.N. chief Ban fears Nigeria anti-gay law will fuel violence
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed deep concern on Wednesday at a new Nigerian law that criminalizes same-sex relationships, which he fears could fuel prejudice and violence and risks obstructing an effective HIV/AI…
Car bomb blamed on al Qaeda kills 26 in north Syrian town
BEIRUT (Reuters) – A car bomb blamed on a radical group linked to al Qaeda killed at least 26 people in a rebel-held city of northern Syria on Wednesday, an opposition monitoring group said.
Bahrain crown prince meets opposition on ending political deadlock
MANAMA (Reuters) – Bahrain’s crown prince met the Shi’ite Muslim opposition leader on Wednesday in search of a way out of a three-year political deadlock, a week after reconciliation talks were suspended in a setback for efforts to stabilize the U.S.-a…
Violence kills 75 in Iraq, PM seeks world’s support
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Bomb attacks and shootings killed at least 75 people in Iraq on Wednesday, police and hospital sources said, making it one of the bloodiest days in months.
