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Saudi king to meet with Obama amid Gulf concerns over Iran deal

By Yeganeh Torbati WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Saudi King Salman will meet with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington on Friday to seek more support in countering Iran, as the Obama administration aims to use the visit to shore up relations after a period of tensions. The visit is the king’s first to the United States since ascending to the throne in January, and comes after the United States agreed to

Exclusive: U.S. pressed Guatemala's Perez to back corruption probes that toppled him

By Sofia Menchu and Enrique Pretel GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) – In a series of meetings that began early this year, the U.S. government pressured Guatemala’s then-President Otto Perez to rid his administration of corrupt officials and to renew the mandate of a U.N. Commission charged with investigating corruption in Guatemala, according to officials with direct knowledge of the talks. In April, Perez reluctantly approved the continued operation of the Commission

Eight policemen killed in Tajikistan, U.S. embassy shut

Eight policemen were killed in Tajikistan on Friday in attacks the authorities in the Central Asian nation blamed on gunmen loyal to the country’s own deputy defense minister. Tajikistan, an impoverished Muslim nation of 8 million and the poorest ex-Soviet state, is still volatile after a 1992-97 civil war that killed tens of thousands. The events prompted the U.S. embassy in Dushanbe, the Tajik capital, to shut on Friday.