Somali al Shabaab group says Kenya can’t act on its threats
MOGADISHU (Reuters) – The Somali Islamist militant group Al Shabaab taunted Kenya on Sunday as its guerrillas awaited a government bid to end a siege in the Nairobi shopping mall they had seized a day earlier.
Merkel leads in German vote, coalition unclear: exit poll
BERLIN (Reuters) – Angela Merkel’s conservatives won the most votes in a German election on Sunday, putting her on track for a third term, but it was unclear whether she would be able to preserve her centre-right coalition or be forced to work with her…
Swiss voters reject bid to scrap military conscription
ZURICH (Reuters) – Switzerland voted overwhelmingly to keep military conscription on Sunday, the third time citizens of the Alpine nation had rejected an attempt to reconstitute an institution regarded by many Swiss as a national ‘glue’.
Russia re-opens railway link with North Korea
RAJIN, North Korea (Reuters) – Russia re-opened a railway link with North Korea on Sunday, holding out the prospect of increased trade for the reclusive nation with its biggest neighbors after years of international sanctions.
Russia says West exploiting Syria deal to threaten force
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia accused the West on Sunday of trying to exploit a chemical weapons deal with Syria to push through a U.N. resolution threatening force against President Bashar al-Assad.
Egyptian students detained for pro-Muslim Brotherhood protests
CAIRO (Reuters) – Several Egyptian students were arrested on Sunday as the start of a new academic year was marked by protests against the army-backed government and clashes between supporters and opponents of deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi.
Helicopters swoop low over Kenyan mall: witness
NAIROBI (Reuters) – One police helicopter and one with military camouflage swooped low over a Kenyan shopping mall on Sunday where security forces were involved in a standoff with Islamist militant gunmen holding hostages, a Reuters witness reported.
Delight and concern as Catholics digest pope’s interview
PARIS (Reuters) – There was delight, curiosity and concern at Roman Catholic churches this weekend as the impact of a remarkably frank interview Pope Francis gave to Jesuit journals began to sink in with the faithful around the world.
Kenya says it has a chance to ‘neutralise’ mall attackers
NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya’s president said on Sunday security forces confronting militants in a Nairobi shopping mall had as good a chance “as we can hope for” of neutralizing the attackers, and that Kenya wanted to confirm a claim of responsibility by…
Released Taliban leader awaits fate in Karachi safe house
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a former Taliban second-in-command released in Pakistan this weekend, is being kept in a safe house in Karachi as regional powers debate what role he could play in the Afghan peace process, sources in P…
