Britain and France extend closures of Yemen embassies
SANAA (Reuters) – Britain and France extended the closure of their embassies in Yemen on Monday after a U.S. warning of a possible militant attack in the region, and the Arab state said it was stepping up security at ports and airports.
Ivory Coast frees 14 Gbagbo allies pending criminal trials
ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Judicial authorities in Ivory Coast have ordered the release from prison of 14 top allies of ex-president Laurent Gbagbo, including his son, pending criminal trials this year, the state prosecutor said on Monday.
Botswana faults Zimbabwe election, calls for audit
GABORONE (Reuters) – Botswana called on Monday for an independent audit of Zimbabwe’s disputed vote last week, saying the elections could not be considered acceptably free and fair in the regional southern African community.
Envoys press Egypt’s Brotherhood to ‘swallow reality’: spokesman
CAIRO (Reuters) – International envoys trying to end Egypt’s political crisis are urging the Muslim Brotherhood to “swallow the reality” that Mohamed Mursi’s time as president is over but the group is refusing, the Brotherhood’s spokesman said on Monda…
Zimbabwe stock market plunges after Mugabe victory
HARARE (Reuters) – Zimbabwe’s stock market plunged on Monday, the first trading day since confirmation of President Robert Mugabe’s landslide election victory, as fears spread that his ZANU-PF party might target foreign-owned businesses or scrap the U….
Fire in Norwegian road tunnel sends 55 to hospital
OSLO (Reuters) – More than 50 people were sent to hospital after a truck caught fire in a tunnel in western Norway on Monday, police said.
Turkey tests undersea rail tunnel linking Asia with Europe
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey has successfully completed a trial run of a rail tunnel under the Bosphorus connecting Istanbul’s European and Asian sides, the first of several planned mega projects in the country’s largest city to see the light of day.
Dozens dead, stranded after flash floods in Afghanistan, Pakistan
KABUL (Reuters) – Flash floods caused by unusually heavy rain across Afghanistan and Pakistan killed more than 160 people and stranded villagers in remote areas without shelter, food or power in one of South Asia’s worst natural disasters this year, of…
Bomb wounds train passengers as Pakistan goes on high alert
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistani police scoured hills surrounding the capital Islamabad and sent additional units to protect key installations on Monday amid tightened security ahead of a major Muslim holiday and after a bomb wounded 14 people on a trai…
Syria’s Assad says war is the only way to crush terrorism
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said crushing “terrorists” must come before any political solution to end the crisis in his country, dimming hopes of an international peace conference any time soon.