Syrian opposition meets to decide on peace talks
The divided Syrian opposition will meet Friday in Istanbul to decide whether to join next week's landmark peace talks, as its Arab and Western allies ratchet up the pressure for it to attend.
18 January 2014 11:24
Uganda president blocks anti-gay bill: report
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has refused to approve a controversial bill that would see homosexuals jailed for life, saying there were better ways to cure the "abnormality", a report said Friday.
18 January 2014 10:14
Australia sorry for Indonesia intrusion but vows to stop boats
The Australian government apologised unreservedly to Jakarta on Friday after its navy "inadvertently" violated Indonesian waters during border security operations, but vowed to pursue its policies to halt asylum-seeker boats.
Japan PM to attend Sochi Olympics: reports
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is planning to attend the opening ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics, reports said Friday, despite calls for a boycott over Russia's anti-gay laws.
Obama to unveil NSA reforms, response to Snowden
President Barack Obama presents Americans on Friday with long-awaited reforms of spy agency phone and Internet data collection sweeps, prompted by the damaging torrent of leaks unleashed by Edward Snowden.
17 January 2014 11:25
S. Korea rejects North's warning over military drills
South Korea on Thursday rejected North Korean warnings to call off scheduled joint military exercises with the United States and vowed "severe" retaliation to any provocation from Pyongyang.
EU is slow in implementing its Central Asia assistance plan
The European Court of Auditors (ECA) has concluded that the Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) had developed a good plan of assistance to Central Asia, but was implementing it slowly.
16 January 2014 15:28
Egypt constitution sails through vote but turnout key
Egyptian voters overwhelmingly backed a new constitution that paves the way for the army chief to run for president, early results showed Thursday, but turnout figures will provide a key measure of his popularity.
Putin plots Syria strategy with Iran's Zarif
Russia launches a fresh round of Syrian diplomacy on Thursday when it receives the foreign minister of Iran before hosting his counterpart from Syria ahead of historic peace talks on the bloody crisis.
16 January 2014 11:09
Egypt votes on constitution as violence highlights divide
Egyptians queued to vote amid tight security Tuesday in a referendum on a new constitution likely to launch a presidential bid by the army chief who overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.
15 January 2014 17:54
Same-sex ban 'legalises' homophobic violence: gay Nigerians
Gay activists on Tuesday vowed to fight the Nigerian government after the country outlawed same-sex unions, warning the act legitimised homophobic violence and increased fears of persecution.
