Qatar emir makes history, visits Hamas-run Gaza Strip
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (Reuters) – The Emir of Qatar entered the Gaza Strip on Tuesday for a visit that broke the isolation of it Islamist rulers, Hamas, but disappointed Israel and mainstream Palestinian leaders in the West Bank.
Jordan sets January 23 for early parliamentary election
AMMAN (Reuters) – Jordan’s electoral commission set January 23 as the date for early parliamentary elections on Tuesday after King Abdullah dissolved parliament halfway through its term, responding to pressure for an acceleration of political reforms.
Recuperating Mauritanian president shot in back: sources
NOUAKCHOTT (Reuters) – Mauritania’s president was driving an unmarked car at high speed through a military checkpoint at the weekend when a gendarme shot and wounded him, security and other sources said on Tuesday.
Iraqi Shi’ite militants fight for Syria’s Assad
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Scores of Iraqi Shi’ite militants are fighting in Syria, often alongside President Bashar al-Assad’s troops, and pledging loyalty to Iran’s supreme Shi’ite religious leader, according to militia fighters and politicians in Iraq.
Palestinians reject U.S. criticism of U.N. status drive
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – The Palestinians fended off on Tuesday U.S. criticism of their bid for upgraded status at the United Nations, saying the move would improve prospects for a peace accord with Israel, not damage them.
Karadzic denies Bosnia war crimes as he starts defense
THE HAGUE (Reuters) – Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, accused of some of the worst atrocities in Europe since World War Two, told judges he should be praised for promoting peace, not charged with war crimes, an assertion hotly denied by vi…
"I take responsibility" for Benghazi: Clinton
LIMA (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton assumed responsibility on Monday for last month’s deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, which has become an issue in the hard-fought U.S. presidential campaign.
Britain blocks hacker’s extradition to United States
LONDON (Reuters) – A British computer hacker accused by the United States of causing more than $700,000 damage to U.S. military systems will not be extradited because of the high risk he could kill himself, Britain’s Home Secretary Theresa May said on …
Cuba lifting much-reviled travel restrictions
HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuba will scrap much-reviled travel restrictions starting in January, easing most Cubans’ exit and return, state media said on Tuesday, in the communist island’s first major immigration reform in half a century.
EU sanctions target Iran oil, gas, tanker companies
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union governments imposed sanctions on Tuesday against major Iranian state companies in the oil and gas industry, and strengthened restrictions on the central bank, cranking up financial pressure over Tehran’s nuclear prog…
