Mexican reforms hostage to opposition in local elections
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – A year after winning the Mexican presidency, Enrique Pena Nieto needs a solid performance by the opposition in state elections on Sunday to keep alive a fragile alliance he built to steer reforms through Congress.
Authors of ‘false news’ may face jail under new Gambian law
BANJUL (Reuters) – Gambia’s parliament has made sweeping changes to the country’s information law, introducing new legislation that threatens those who spread “false news” with 15 years in prison and $100,000 in fines.
Tunisian rulers bemoan Egypt’s ‘coup against legitimacy’
TUNIS (Reuters) – Tunisia, birthplace of the Arab Spring pro-democracy uprisings, on Thursday condemned the Egyptian army’s removal of elected president Mohamed Mursi as “a coup against legitimacy” and urged Cairo to guarantee his safety.
PKK militants attack Turkish military despite ceasefire
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) – Kurdish militants attacked two military outposts in southeastern Turkey, Turkish officials said on Thursday, breaking a three-month ceasefire, but they denied militant reports one soldier had been killed.
Egypt Islamists call ‘Friday of rejection’ against coup
CAIRO (Reuters) – An Islamist coalition led by the Muslim Brotherhood appealed to Egyptians on Thursday to demonstrate across the nation in a “Friday of Rejection” against a military coup that ousted elected President Mohamed Mursi.
U.N. seeks $1 billion to feed Sahel, says Syria distracting
DAKAR (Reuters) – The United Nations appealed on Wednesday for more than $1 billion to help feed 11 million people at risk across Africa’s arid Sahel belt, warning that the crisis in Syria was distracting donors from the humanitarian situation there.
Top Zimbabwe court refuses to delay July 31 election
HARARE (Reuters) – Zimbabwe’s Constitutional Court rejected a series of government appeals on Thursday to delay a July 31 general election in order to allow more time for reform of the security forces and state media.
Egypt shows power only comes from force, Somali militants say
NAIROBI (Reuters) – Events in Egypt, where an elected Islamist president was ousted by the army, showed that power only comes from force, not democracy, Somali militant group al Shabaab said on Thursday.
Tunisian president rejects military intervention in Egypt
TUNIS (Reuters) – Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki said on Thursday that the army’s removal of Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi was unacceptable and urged Egypt to guarantee Mursi’s safety.
Merkel challenger plans investment offensive in Germany
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s main opposition party plans to boost infrastructure spending by 80 billion euros a year if it wins a federal election in September, with the help of funds raised by hiking taxes on high earners.
