News about Middle East & Africa

Adoption a hope for C. African children in crisis

Two-year-old Mercia clung unsteadily to Pierrette's dress, a potential candidate for adoption in the orphanage run by the elderly lady as clashes wracked the Central African Republic's capital.
19 January 2014 13:18

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

Angry wife outs Indian minister's 'affair' on Twitter

The furious wife of the Indian government's top-tweeting minister admitted Thursday she had hacked his account to send out messages exposing an alleged affair he was having with a Pakistani journalist.
16 January 2014 14:17

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.
16 January 2014 13:10

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

Donors in major fundraising push for Syria

Donors gathered in Kuwait Wednesday in a major fundraising drive for 13 million Syrians affected by war following a record UN appeal for $6.5 billion.
15 January 2014 18:51

Pakistan gang rape inspires New York opera

To those who complain that opera is an elitist indulgence served up to snobs in dinner jackets, New York's latest world premiere may come as something of a shock.
15 January 2014 13:21

'Party over' in C. Africa as troops return to barracks

The new interim president of the violence-wracked Central African Republic told marauding fighters Monday that "the party is over" after weeks of deadly sectarian violence, as deserting troops and police returned to duty.
14 January 2014 15:59

Kerry seeks to bridge US-Russia gap with potatoes

After months of tension between the US and Russia, US Secretary of State John Kerry sought to bridge the diplomatic gap by giving his Russian counterpart an unusual gift of potatoes.
14 January 2014 15:37

Obama defends Afghan strategy after Gates comments

Barack Obama insisted Monday he had faith in the Afghan war mission after former Pentagon chief Robert Gates charged the president lacked passion for military action and soured on his own troop surge.
14 January 2014 11:08

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