Tunisian forces launch air strikes on Islamist militants
TUNIS (Reuters) – Tunisian forces launched air and ground strikes on Islamist militants near the Algerian border on Friday after fierce overnight clashes in the area, which coincided with increased instability and political turmoil in the North African…
Israel to host next round of talks with Palestinians: Livni
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – The next Israeli-Palestinian peace talks session will be held in Israel in the second week of August and a first group of Palestinian prisoners will be freed by then, Israel’s chief negotiator said on Friday.
U.S. sees hope in Iranian president-elect, but still cautious
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration is signaling its hopes for an easing of nuclear tensions after Iranian President-elect Hassan Rouhani takes office, but holding off on substantive moves until the moderate cleric shows a willingness to ne…
Russia’s Putin says sentences in fraud case involving top critic Navalny were ‘strange’
LAKE SELIGER, Russia (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday he was surprised by the five-year jail term a court handed down to Alexei Navalny, his top critic, when another man convicted in the same embezzlement case received only a…
Iran’s Rouhani misquoted in remarks on Israel: state TV
DUBAI (Reuters) – Two days before his inauguration as Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani said on Friday that Israeli occupation of Palestinian land had inflicted a “wound” on the Muslim world, according to a segment of his remarks broadcast on Iran’s…
Ex-PM Keita to face Cisse in Mali election run-off
BAMAKO (Reuters) – Mali’s postwar election produced no clear winner and former Prime Minister Ibrahim Boubacar Keita will face ex-Finance Minister Soumaila Cisse in a run-off due on August 11, the government said on Friday.
Berlusconi says Italy needs justice reform or elections
ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s center right must push for reform of the justice system or seek new elections, former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi told lawmakers from his People of Freedom Party, according to a source at the meeting on Friday.
Brazil enacts tough anti-bribery law required by OECD
BRASILIA (Reuters) – Bribing a public official in Brazil could become a very onerous mistake for local and foreign businesses under a law enacted on Friday that for the first time makes companies liable for bribes paid by their employees.
U.S., Arab nations working to bring Egypt parties together: Kerry
LONDON (Reuters) – The United States and other nations are working to bring Egypt’s interim government and the Muslim Brotherhood together to find a peaceful resolution to the current crisis, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday.
U.N. chief names former Bulgarian foreign minister as Iraq envoy
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday appointed former Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nickolay Mladenov as his special envoy to Iraq, where security has deteriorated as Sunni Islamist groups step up an insurgency against t…
