Merkel coalition takes lead in poll for first time in four years
BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right coalition has enough support to win a parliamentary majority in a September 22 election, the first time it has taken the lead in nearly four years, according to a new poll.
Bangladesh court rules top Islamic party illegal
DHAKA (Reuters) – A Bangladesh court on Thursday declared as illegal the country’s main Islamic party, Jamaat-e-Islami, effectively banning it from a general election due early next year.
U.S., Pakistan agree to start new chapter in long-strained relations
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – The United States and Pakistan agreed on Thursday to re-establish a “full partnership”, hoping to end years of acrimony over U.S. drone strikes on Pakistani soil, the raid that killed Osama bin Laden and other grievances.
Assad says sure he will defeat Syrian rebels
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Thursday he was confident of victory against rebels in a 28-month-old civil war that has killed more than 100,000 people and sent nearly two million fleeing abroad.
Three suspected militants killed in drone strike south Yemen: official
ADEN (Reuters) – At least three suspected al Qaeda militants were killed on Thursday in east Yemen by missiles fired from an unmanned aircraft, the third such strike in under a week, a government official said.
Dissident Kazakh Ablyazov faces extradition to Ukraine
AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France (Reuters) – Dissident Kazakh oligarch Mukhtar Ablyazov, accused at home of embezzling more than $5 billion, was told by a French judge on Thursday that he faced extradition, but his family vowed to fight an expulsion it said was…
Egypt solution hinges on dignified exit for Mursi
PARIS (Reuters) – European attempts to broker a resolution to Egypt’s bloody political stand-off hinge on finding a way for ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi to step down with dignity in return for a role for his Muslim Brotherhood in the country…
Italy’s top court to issue verdict on Berlusconi fraud appeal
ROME (Reuters) – Five supreme court judges on Thursday considered their verdict in Silvio Berlusconi’s appeal against a tax fraud conviction that could end his 20-year domination of Italian politics and throw the government into turmoil if confirmed.
Over 1,000 Iraqis killed in July, highest monthly toll since 2008: U.N.
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – More than 1,000 Iraqis were killed in sectarian violence in July, the highest monthly death toll since 2008, the United Nations said on Thursday, as Sunni Islamist groups stepped up their insurgency against Iraq’s Shi’ite-led govern…
Spain’s Rajoy says he was wrong to trust treasurer in party funding scandal
MADRID (Reuters) – Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy apologized on Thursday for mishandling a major corruption scandal, but denied he or his center-right People’s Party accepted illegal payments and rejected opposition calls to step down.
