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.
Renamo says it laments Mozambique economic disruption, seeks talks
MAPUTO (Reuters) – Mozambique opposition party Renamo, suspected of killing two civilians last week in a nascent guerrilla campaign, said on Friday it regretted disruption of the economy and called for more dialogue with the government.
Ex-Murdoch editors lose bid to have UK hacking charges dropped
LONDON (Reuters) – Two former editors of a British tabloid newspaper shut down by owner Rupert Murdoch over a phone-hacking scandal lost a legal battle on Friday to have criminal charges against them dropped.
Berlusconi associate admits ‘excess’ at ‘bunga bunga’ parties
MILAN (Reuters) – A close associate of Silvio Berlusconi said on Friday he agreed with descriptions of “bunga bunga” parties at the former prime minister’s palatial residence as “excess, abuse of power and degradation.”
Warsaw mayor’s woes signal trouble ahead for Polish PM Tusk
WARSAW (Reuters) – Residents of the Polish capital fed-up with rising bus fares and snarled-up traffic are campaigning to oust the once-popular mayor, in a foretaste of the electoral price the national government may have to pay for a slowing economy.
Russia criticizes groups setting conditions for Syria talks
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia is committed to arranging a peace conference on the Syria conflict but other countries and groups are complicating matters by trying to set preconditions, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday.
Somalia may accept former islamist warlord in portcity: diplomats
MOGADISHU (Reuters) – Somalia’s government is expected to recognize a former Islamist warlord it had opposed as interim leader of a strategic port city, diplomats said, defusing a crisis over rival claims to the post that had raised fears of a return t…
EU gives Serbia green light to start membership talks
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Serbia won the green light on Friday to start negotiations by January on joining the European Union, capping a remarkable transformation in the prospects of the former Yugoslavia since the wars of the 1990s.
Mugabe, Tsvangirai register to run in Zimbabwe elections
HARARE (Reuters) – Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe and long-time rival Morgan Tsvangirai registered on Friday for elections scheduled for July 31 in which Mugabe is seeking to extend his three-decade rule.
