Kenya deputy president loses case linked to poll violence
NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya’s High Court ordered Deputy President William Ruto on Friday to surrender a 100-acre farm in the lush Rift Valley and pay compensation to a farmer who had accused the politician of grabbing the land during election violence fi…
Iran detains Slovak hang-glider group: Slovak media
PRAGUE (Reuters) – A group of five or six Slovak hang-glider enthusiasts has been detained in Iran on suspicion of espionage, the Slovak news website www.sme.sk said on Friday.
France challenges arbitration award, Tapie investigated
PARIS (Reuters) – A tycoon with ties to ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy was put under formal investigation on suspicion of fraud on Friday in connection with a 403 million-euro ($524 million) arbitration award he received in 2008 to settle a legal dispute…
Rights group accuses Central African Republic rebels of abuses
BANGUI (Reuters) – Rebels in Central African Republic have razed villages, torched homes and murdered civilians in violence across neglected rural areas that began before they seized power in March and continues today, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on …
Somalia may accept former Islamist warlord in port city
MOGADISHU (Reuters) – Somalia’s government may recognize a former Islamist warlord it had opposed as interim leader of a strategic port city in a bid to defuse tensions, diplomats said, although a new clash between rival militias erupted there on Frida…
Guinea charges minister over 2009 massacre of demonstrators
CONAKRY (Reuters) – A court in Guinea has charged a government minister over his alleged role in a stadium massacre in which some 150 people were killed in 2009, a human rights group and a justice ministry official said on Friday.
Turkish security forces fire on protest in southeast, one dead
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) – Turkish security forces killed one person and wounded seven on Friday when they fired on a group of people protesting against construction of a new gendarmerie outpost in Kurdish-dominated southeastern Turkey, security so…
French prosecutor recommends dropping Sarkozy funding probe
BORDEAUX, France (Reuters) – A French public prosecutor recommended on Friday dropping an investigation into ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy and seven other people over allegations of duping L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt into handing over cash for e…
Mandela showing ‘great improvement’, ex-wife Winnie says
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Former South African President Nelson Mandela is showing a “great improvement” in his health compared to a few days ago, his ex-wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, said on Friday.
Senior Vatican cleric arrested in money smuggling case
ROME (Reuters) – A senior Catholic cleric with connections to the Vatican bank was arrested on Friday for plotting to help rich friends smuggle tens of millions of euros in cash into Italy from Switzerland, in the latest blow to the Vatican’s image.
