CURRENT HEADLINES

Enraged by kidnapping, Egyptian police block Gaza border

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian police angered by the kidnapping of seven colleagues by Islamist gunmen kept a crossing into the Gaza Strip closed again on Saturday, stranding hundreds of Palestinian travelers, witnesses said.

Armed Tuareg and Arab groups clash in northern Mali

BAMAKO (Reuters) - Fighting has broken out in northern Mali between Tuareg separatists and local Arab-led gunmen, only days after the African country won a $4.2 billion aid pledge to help it recover from a conflict with Islamists affiliated to al Qaeda.

France's Hollande signs gay marriage law

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande has signed into law a bill allowing same-sex marriage, making France the 14th country to legalize gay weddings.

Rome protest turns up heat on new PM Letta

ROME (Reuters) - Thousands of people protested in Rome on Saturday against austerity policies and high unemployment, urging new Prime Minister Enrico Letta to focus on creating jobs to help pull the country out of recession.

Hopes fade for those still trapped in Freeport Indonesia mine

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc said on Saturday that rockfalls were hampering rescue efforts after a tunnel collapse four days ago at its giant Indonesian copper mine, with hopes fading of finding alive any of the 23 still missing.

Liberia's Johnson-Sirleaf defends governance record

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf on Friday defended her government's record on good governance and transparency, following an independent audit that cast doubt on her anti-corruption efforts.

U.S. chides Russia over missiles as peace plans suffer

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The United States chided Russia for sending missiles to the Syrian government as plans for a peace conference promoted by Washington and Moscow were hit by diplomatic rifts over its scope and purpose.

U.N. chief appoints former Dutch minister to head Mali mission

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday appointed former Dutch development minister Albert Gerard Koenders as U.N. special envoy for Mali and head of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the West African country.

Nigeria bombs Islamists, U.S. sounds alarm

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigerian warplanes struck militant camps in the northeast on Friday in a major push against an Islamist insurgency, drawing a sharp warning from the United States to respect human rights and not harm civilians.

Saudi Arabia says hackers sabotage government websites

RIYADH (Reuters) - Several government websites in Saudi Arabia were sabotaged in a series of heavy cyber attacks from abroad in recent days, disabling them briefly until the attacks were repelled, the government said.

Analysis: Upgrade crowns Turkey's peaceful rise but pitfalls loom

PARIS (Reuters) - Turkey's achievement of investment-grade status crowns a decade of rapid growth, financial stability and political reform by a "tiger" economy on the seam of Europe and Asia, but the rising power still faces pitfalls in a dangerous neighborhood.

Insight: Syria's Nusra Front eclipsed by Iraq-based al Qaeda

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The most feared and effective rebel group battling President Bashar al-Assad, the Islamist Nusra Front, is being eclipsed by a more radical jihadi force whose aims go far beyond overthrowing the Syrian leader.

Former Argentine dictator Videla dies in prison at age 87

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Jorge Rafael Videla, an austere former army commander who led Argentina during the bloodiest period of a "dirty war" dictatorship and was unrepentant about kidnappings and murders ordered by the state, died on Friday at age 87.

Canada deports Palestinian hijacker after 25-year legal battle

OTTAWA (Reuters) - After a 25-year legal battle, Canada has finally deported a Palestinian convicted of an attack on an Israeli airliner in 1968, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said on Monday.

European, U.S. retailers split on Bangladesh reform plan

DHAKA (Reuters) - Major U.S. retailers, including Gap Inc, declined to endorse an accord on Bangladesh building and fire safety backed by Europe's two biggest fashion chains, a trans-Atlantic divide that may dilute garment industry reform efforts.

Analysis: Syria peace talks look doomed in advance

LONDON (Reuters) - If anyone saw last week's U.S.-Russian agreement to convene a peace conference on Syria as a potential breakthrough, Western leaders have been going out of their way to disabuse them.

Kyrgyz "mob rule" derails gold field sale: president

BISHKEK (Reuters) - An emotional Kyrgyzstan president on Tuesday said "mob rule" had wrecked the sale of a gold field, blaming local clans for tripling the asking price and scaring off investors.

First Kurdish rebels arrive in Iraq under Turkey peace plan

HEROR, Iraq (Reuters) - Weary and caked in mud, the first group of Kurdish militants to leave Turkey under a peace plan descended a mountain into Iraq early on Tuesday to be met with embraces from PKK comrades, in a symbolic step towards ending a three-decades-old insurgency.

Greek workers walk off the job to protest ban on teachers' strike

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek state workers walked off the job on Tuesday to protest a government decision to ban a strike by high-school teachers, shutting down schools and reducing staff at hospitals to a minimum.

After bombings,Turkey says world must act against Syria

REYHANLI, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkey accused a group with links to Syrian intelligence of carrying out car bombings that killed 46 people in a Turkish border town, and said on Sunday it was time for the world to act against the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

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