Front-runner in Mali election runoff pledges to reinforce peace
BAMAKO (Reuters) – Mali’s presidential front-runner wrapped up his campaign on Friday with a promise to restore peace to the West African country scarred by a coup and an Islamist uprising that triggered French military intervention.
U.S., Russia agree to prepare for Syria peace talks
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. and Russian officials agreed on Friday on the need to convene a long-delayed Syrian peace conference in Geneva as soon as possible, but they offered no concrete plan to bring the warring government and rebels to the table.
Police hurt in Northern Ireland sectarian violence
BELFAST (Reuters) – Police fired plastic bullets and water cannon at rioters in the heart of Belfast on Friday after being pelted by missiles for the second successive night in the latest bout of Northern Ireland’s sporadic sectarian violence.
Tone of Russia talks positive, conditions not ripe for summit: U.S.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – High-level U.S.-Russian political and security talks on Friday were “positive and constructive throughout” in tone and not overshadowed by the case of fugitive spy agency contractor Edward Snowden, a U.S. official said.
Undercover sting by police, activists nets Togo ivory kingpin
LOME (Reuters) – A major international ivory trafficker believed to have dealt in the tusks of thousands of elephants over a four-decade career has been arrested in Togo following an undercover investigation by wildlife campaigners.
Four Islamist militants killed in Egypt near Israel: sources
CAIRO (Reuters) – Four Islamist militants were killed by a missile strike in Egypt’s North Sinai region on Friday as they prepared to launch rockets at Israel, Egyptian security sources said.
U.S. drone kills five Qaeda suspects in Yemen, strikes intensify
ADEN (Reuters) – Five suspected al Qaeda militants were killed in an air strike in eastern Yemen, the Interior Ministry said on Friday, in an escalating campaign against the militant group’s Yemeni branch after recent warnings of possible attacks.
Kenyan mining minister denies corruption allegations
MOMBASA, Kenya (Reuters) – Kenya’s mining minister denied allegations of corruption on Friday that were leveled against him by the Kenyan subsidiary of Canadian-listed miner Pacific Wildcat Resources.
U.S., Russian ministers agree to prepare for Syria peace talks: Lavrov
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. and Russian officials agreed on Friday on the need to convene a Syrian peace conference in Geneva as soon as possible and will meet again by the end of the month to prepare for the talks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavr…
Attackers in South Sudan kill local MSF staff member
JUBA (Reuters) – A South Sudanese staff member of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has been killed and another wounded in an attack by armed men on their vehicle outside the country’s capital, Juba, the medical charity said on Friday.
