China refutes report it will centralize military command
BEIJING (Reuters) – China denied on Tuesday a state media report that said its military will establish a joint operational command structure for its forces to improve coordination between different parts of the defense system.
U.S. wants Afghanistan to sign security deal in ‘weeks not months’
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States wants the Afghanistan government to sign a bilateral security agreement in matter of weeks if a contingent of U.S. troops is to remain there after 2014, the White House said on Monday.
China urges South Sudan ceasefire as peace talks stutter
ADDIS ABABA/KHARTOUM (Reuters) – China, the biggest investor in South Sudan’s oil industry, called on Monday for an immediate ceasefire in the world’s newest state, as rebel and government negotiators haggled over the scope of peace talks meant to end …
Iraq PM urges Falluja to expel al Qaeda-linked militants
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq’s prime minister urged people in the besieged city of Falluja on Monday to drive out al Qaeda-linked insurgents to preempt a military offensive that officials said could be launched within days.
Gunmen kill 30 in central Nigerian village attack
JOS, Nigeria (Reuters) – Gunmen killed 30 people in a village in central Nigeria on Monday, officials said, in a religiously-mixed region with a long history of ethnic and communal violence.
Insight: Fuelled by Syria war, al Qaeda bursts back to life in Iraq
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Al Qaeda gunmen seeking to form a radical Islamic state out of the chaos of Syria’s civil war are fighting hard to reconquer the province they once controlled in neighboring Iraq, stirring fears the conflict is exporting ever more i…
Egypt’s army chief Sisi seen edging closer to presidential bid
CAIRO (Reuters) – In Egypt, it no longer appears to be a question of if, but when army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will declare his candidacy for president. For the second time in three days, local media reported on Monday that Sisi had finally made up …
Israel pursues plans for settler homes as Kerry departs
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel published plans on Monday to build 272 homes in settlements in the occupied West Bank even as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry wrapped up his 10th visit in a year trying to forge an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.
EU, Iran to talk this week about implementing nuclear deal
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Iran’s deputy foreign minister Abbas Araqchi will meet a senior European Union official at the end of the week in Geneva to discuss implementing a landmark nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers, the EU said on Monday.
Iran rejects U.S. suggestion of Syrian peace talks role
ANKARA/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Iran on Monday appeared to rule out participation in Syrian peace talks later this month, dismissing a U.S. suggestion that it could be involved “from the sidelines” as not respecting its dignity.
