Israel says to announce more settlement building
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel said on Thursday it would press ahead with plans to build in existing Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, in an apparent bid to appease hardliners opposed to peace talks with the Palestinians.
Embargo fails to stop Ivory Coast illicit diamond trade: U.N. experts
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – An eight-year-old U.N. embargo has failed to stop the illicit production and trafficking of Ivory Coast rough diamonds that are continuously being smuggled out of the West African country and could be funding illegal arms pur…
South Africa’s Implats says mediator allows AMCU union to strike
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – A government mediator has granted South Africa’s Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union permission to call a strike against Impala Platinum, the world’s second largest producer of the precious metal said on Thursday….
Algerian troops find huge arms cache on Libya border
ALGIERS (Reuters) – Algerian troops discovered a huge arms cache near the border with Libya, including hundreds of surface-to-air missiles, rockets and landmines, an Algerian security source said on Thursday.
White House: no new comment on Merkel spying allegation
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House refused to comment on whether the United States had snooped on German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cellphone communications and acknowledged on Thursday that claims of U.S. spying have created tensions with allies.
South Africa’s Implats says AMCU union has green light to call strike
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) has been granted permission by a government mediator to call a strike against Impala Platinum, the world’s second largest producer of the precious metal sa…
Sierra Leone charges editors for comparing president to rat
FREETOWN (Reuters) – Sierra Leone has charged two newspaper editors with 26 counts of seditious libel after they published an article comparing President Ernest Bai Koroma to a rat, a senior official said on Thursday, stirring concern over press freedo…
Pirates kidnap two U.S. sailors off Nigerian coast: sources
ABUJA/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Pirates attacked an oil supply vessel off the Nigerian coast and kidnapped the captain and chief engineer, both U.S. citizens, American officials said on Thursday as the Nigerian military ordered its Navy to rescue the men….
World boxing champ Klitschko to run for Ukraine president in 2015
KIEV (Reuters) – Ukrainian heavyweight boxer and opposition politician Vitaly Klitschko said on Thursday he would run for president in 2015 and angrily rejected legislation that could disqualify his candidacy because of years he spent training in Germa…
Russia denies head of U.S. exchange program recruiting spies
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia angrily denied U.S. media reports that the Russian director of a cultural exchange program may be recruiting Americans as spies, saying such allegations risked damaging ties between the two countries.
