Al Qaeda leader urges restraint in first ‘guidelines for jihad’
LONDON (Reuters) – Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri has issued his first specific guidelines for jihad, urging restraint in attacking other Muslim sects and non-Muslims and in starting conflicts in countries where jihadis might find a safe base to prom…
Russia says may be time to force Assad’s foes to talk peace
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday it may be time to consider efforts to force foes of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to attend an international peace conference instead of just urging them to do so.
Jailed ex-governor hid assets in Nigeria’s Oando – British prosecutor
LONDON (Reuters) – Jailed former Nigerian oil state governor James Ibori hid some of his assets in the oil firm Oando and money passed from the company’s accounts to Ibori’s Swiss accounts, a British prosecutor told a court on Monday.
U.N. Syria warcrimes team checking 14 alleged chemical attacks
GENEVA (Reuters) – U.N. warcrimes investigators know of 14 potential chemical attacks in Syria since they began monitoring Syrian human rights abuses in September 2011, the team’s chairman said on Monday.
Rwandans vote but no contest seen for Kagame’s party
KIGALI (Reuters) – Rwandans voted in a parliamentary election on Monday that is widely expected to hand an easy win to the ruling coalition in a national assembly that may be asked to change the constitution to allow President Paul Kagame a third term….
Rebels, foreign fighters step up crimes in Syria: U.N.
GENEVA (Reuters) – Hardline Syrian rebels and foreign fighters invoking jihad, or holy war, have stepped up killings, executions and other abuses in the north since July, U.N. human rights investigators said on Monday.
Western powers say Syria must face consequences for non-compliance
PARIS (Reuters) – France, Britain and the United States called on Monday for a swift U.N. resolution committing Syria to remove its chemical weapons, but Russia introduced a note of caution about imposing strong consequences if President Bashar al-Assa…
Belgium investigates suspected cyber spying by foreign state
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Belgium said on Monday it was investigating suspected foreign state espionage against its main telecoms company, which is the top carrier of voice traffic in Africa and the Middle East, and a newspaper pointed the finger at the Uni…
U.N. Syria warcrimes team checking 14 alleged chemical attacks
GENEVA (Reuters) – The U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Syria is investigating 14 alleged attacks with chemical weapons or chemical agents in Syria since it began monitoring Syrian human rights abuses in Sept 2011, the commission’s chairman Paulo Pinheiro…
U.S. Iran sanctions force closure of opposition leader’s website
DUBAI (Reuters) – A U.S. web-hosting company has shut the website of an Iranian opposition leader held under house arrest in Tehran to comply with U.S. sanctions, underscoring the unintended impacts of some of the curbs imposed on the Islamic Republic….




