Belgium warned Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza on Thursday it would end all direct aid if he went ahead with his run for a third term in power that has prompted violent protests. The Belgian government “expresses the hope that President Nkurunziza will renounce a third term,” the foreign ministry said in a statement after a cabinet meeting in Brussels. “A third presidential term would stain at the highest level the
KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo’s government is bringing in outside experts to investigate the long-term impact of some $6.7 billion in contracts with Chinese companies that critics say could exploit the central African nation’s mineral riches.
By Louis Charbonneau and Sam Wilkin UNITED NATIONS/DUBAI (Reuters) – U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday announced talks between warring Yemeni parties in Geneva on May 28 to end over seven weeks of war, as Iran agreed for international inspections of an aid ship sailing to Yemen. Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and regional Shi’ite powerhouse Iran are in a tussle over influence in the Middle East, where sectarian tensions are
By James Pearson SEOUL (Reuters) – Photographs showing a North Korean missile launched from a submarine were manipulated by state propagandists and the country may be years away from developing such technology, analysts and a top U.S. military official said on Tuesday. North Korea, sanctioned by the United States and United Nations for its missile and nuclear tests, said on May 9 it had successfully conducted an underwater test-fire of
Iraqi security forces on Tuesday deployed tanks and artillery around Ramadi to confront Islamic State fighters who have captured the city in a major defeat for the Baghdad government and its Western backers. After Ramadi fell on Sunday, Shi’ite militiamen allied to the Iraqi army had advanced to a nearby base in preparation for a counterattack on the city, which lies in Anbar province just 110 km (70 miles) northwest
By Adrian Croft YAVORIV, Ukraine (Reuters) – Tense Ukrainian soldiers with assault rifles creep stealthily around mock houses before bursting in to clear out gunmen, while others practice setting ambushes or infantry assaults, all under the watchful eyes of U.S. Army trainers. Dotted around the vast, wooded Yavoriv military training area in western Ukraine, soldiers of the U.S. 173rd Airborne Brigade are instructing Ukrainian national guardsmen in techniques designed to
By Hamid Shalizi and Kay Johnson KABUL (Reuters) – A car bomb exploded in the parking lot of Afghanistan’s Ministry of Justice on Tuesday, killing at least five people and wounding dozens as civil servants in Kabul were leaving work for the day, officials said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the third attack targeting justice system employees this month, saying the insurgents would continue to kill “slave” judges and prosecutors.
Saudi-led air raids hit the Yemen capital Sanaa overnight, targeting forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh in the east and south of the city, residents said on Tuesday. Saudi Arabia and its Sunni Muslim allies have been conducting an offensive against Iranian-allied Houthis and units loyal to Saleh for more than seven weeks, part of a campaign to restore exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power. Houthi sources
By Mariam Karouny BEIRUT (Reuters) – A U.S. special forces raid against an Islamic State leader in Syria caught the jihadist group off guard, killing not only the declared target, but also two other important figures, jihadist sources in Syria said. The sources said a spy must have infiltrated the movement and passed on vital information that helped the U.S. commandos zero in on the home of their victim early
By Lindsay Dunsmuir WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S government charged three Chinese professors and three other Chinese nationals with economic espionage and stealing trade secrets from two companies that develop technology often used in military technologies, the Department of Justice said on Tuesday. The three professors from Tianjin University were charged with stealing source code and other proprietary information from Avago Technologies Ltd. and Skyworks Solutions Inc . Avago has