Feared Taliban former No 2 may now hold key to Afghan peace
KABUL/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Once a ruthless fighter and a friend of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, Abdul Ghani Baradar may now hold the key to Afghanistan’s peace – or so his minders believe.
U.S. envoy for North Korea: reactor restart serious matter, if true
TOKYO (Reuters) – The U.S. special envoy for North Korea said on Thursday the reported restart of a research reactor at North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear complex would be a serious matter if true.
China to protect online whistleblowers, but only via official site
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s government will protect from retribution and attacks people who use the internet to report corruption, but only those who use an officially sanctioned website to do so, a senior official said on Thursday.
North Korea reactor situation not ‘clear’: U.N. nuclear chief
VIENNA (Reuters) – The U.N. nuclear watchdog is aware of reports that North Korea may have restarted a reactor capable of producing plutonium for weapons, but does not yet have a “clear understanding” of the situation there, its chief said on Thursday….
U.S. seeks quick proof Syria ready to abandon chemical weapons
GENEVA (Reuters) – The United States will insist that Syria take rapid steps to show it is serious about abandoning its vast chemical arsenal, senior U.S. officials said, as Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Geneva on Thursday for talks with Rus…
Last Iranian dissidents moved out of Iraq camp after violence
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – The last remaining Iranian dissidents in a camp in eastern Iraq have been transferred to a base in Baghdad pending resettlement abroad, the United Nations said on Thursday, less than two weeks after a bout of violence that killed 52…
Insight: The end of angst? Prosperous Germans in no mood for change
EICHSTAETT/BREMERHAVEN, Germany (Reuters) – The Altmuehl is Germany’s slowest-flowing river and Hans Bittl, who lives along its banks in Eichstaett, sees this as a metaphor for the low-key success of his Bavarian town.
Muslim rebel clashes spread to second southern Philippine island
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Reuters) – Fighting between security forces and rogue Muslim rebels seeking to declare an independent state escalated in a southern Philippine city on Thursday and spread to a second island, officials said.
Syrian rebel leadership rejects Russian arms initiative
BEIRUT (Reuters) – A Western-backed Syrian rebel leadership council has rejected a Russian proposal to place Syria’s chemical weapons under international control, the group said in a video statement.
Sanofi, Zealand hit by U.S. setback for diabetes drug
PARIS (Reuters) – French drugmaker Sanofi said on Thursday it would withdraw its U.S. application for diabetes treatment lixisenatide in order to wait for results from an ongoing cardiovascular patient study.
