Merkel’s center-right coalition has slight lead in Emnid poll
BERLIN (Reuters) – Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right coalition was ahead of the combined leftist opposition by a 45-44 percent margin in an opinion poll by the Emnid institute for Bild am Sonntag newspaper was released on Friday ahead of Sunday’s…
Pakistan says to free senior Afghan Taliban commander
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan will release former Afghan Taliban second-in-command Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar on Saturday, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
EU presses Ukraine leader over Tymoshenko, he stalls
YALTA, Ukraine (Reuters) – Senior European Union officials pressed Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovich on Friday to release jailed opponent Yulia Tymoshenko before a landmark summit, but he said he had not taken a firm decision on her case.
U.N. nuclear assembly urges North Korea to halt any reactor restart
VIENNA (Reuters) – Member states of the U.N. nuclear agency called on North Korea on Friday to halt any move to restart a reactor capable of producing plutonium for bombs, after reports the isolated north Asian state might have done so.
Shootout in Nigerian capital killed at least seven: doctor
ABUJA (Reuters) – A shootout in Nigeria’s capital between security forces and suspected Boko Haram Islamist gunmen early on Friday killed at least seven people, a doctor said at the hospital where the bodies were brought in.
Britain’s surging anti-EU party promises ‘earthquake’ at polls
LONDON (Reuters) – The leader of Britain’s rising right-wing anti-EU party on Friday promised a political “earthquake” with victory in next year’s European elections, a challenge that could threaten David Cameron’s hopes of a second term as prime minis…
Suspected al Qaeda attacks on Yemeni forces kill at least 31
ADEN (Reuters) – Suspected al Qaeda militants killed at least 31 Yemeni soldiers and policemen in attacks in the south of the country on Friday, their deadliest for more than a year, security officials said.
Israeli forces manhandle EU diplomats, seize West Bank aid
KHIRBET AL-MAKHUL, West Bank (Reuters) – Israeli soldiers manhandled European diplomats on Friday and seized a truck full of tents and emergency aid they had been trying to deliver to Palestinians whose homes were demolished this week.
Dutch coalition party threatens to oppose F-35 fighter purchase
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – A Dutch order for Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which earlier this week was seen as a boost for the troubled project, is in doubt again after one of the coalition parties threatened to oppose the deal.
Ivory Coast to try ICC-wanted former first lady in Ivorian court
ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Ivory Coast will try former first lady Simone Gbagbo, who is being sought by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity, in a domestic court, the government said following a special cabinet meeting on Frida…




