International

Exclusive: U.S. eyes China partnership on Africa power – sources

(Reuters) – The United States is considering partnering with China on improving electricity in Africa and the proposal could be part of bilateral discussions when President Barack Obama visits Beijing next week, two sources involved told Reuters. The proposal could include $5-$7 billion of commitments to improve electricity generation and transmission in several African countries, one source involved in the initiative said. “Plans have been discussed and outline ideas drawn up but there are understandably nerves given the delicate […]

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Ukraine accuses Russia of sending in tanks, escalating crisis

(Reuters) – Ukraine’s military accused Russia on Friday of sending a column of 32 tanks and truckloads of troops into the country’s east to support pro-Russian separatists fighting government forces. Thursday’s cross-border incursion, if confirmed, is a significant escalation of a conflict that has killed more than 4,000 people since the separatists rose up in mid-April and would call into question Russia’s commitment to a two-month-old ceasefire deal. The truce has looked particularly fragile this week, with […]

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Peshmergas blunt, don’t break, Islamic State siege of Syria’s Kobani

(Reuters) – Iraqi Kurdish forces have blunted but not broken the siege of the Syrian border town of Kobani, a week after arriving to great fanfare with heavy weapons and fighters in a bid to save it from Islamic State. Kobani has become a test of the U.S.-led coalition’s ability to halt the advance of the Sunni Muslim insurgents. The town is one of few areas in Syria where it can co-ordinate air strikes with operations by […]

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Exclusive: Scientists tell U.S. – find recipe for Ebola cure in survivors’ blood

(Reuters) – A group of scientists including three Nobel laureates in medicine has proposed that U.S. health officials chart a new path to developing Ebola drugs and vaccines by harnessing antibodies produced by survivors of the deadly outbreak. The proposal builds on the use of “convalescent serum,” or survivors’ blood, which has been given to at least four U.S. Ebola patients who then recovered from the virus. It is based on an approach called passive […]

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China, Japan set aside isle row, paving way for leaders to meet

(Reuters) – China and Japan agreed on Friday to work on improving ties and signaled willingness to put a bitter row over disputed islands on the back burner, paving the way for their leaders to meet at an Asian-Pacific summit next week. The agreement, ahead of an expected ice-breaking chat between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the gathering in Beijing, signals a thaw in ties between the world’s second- and third-biggest economies. Relations […]

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Hollande popularity plumbs new low in mid-term French poll

(Reuters) – Half-way into his five-year mandate the popularity of French President Francois Hollande hit a new low on Thursday, hours before the Socialist leader addresses the nation to defend his shaky record on the economy. In the worst score for a president in modern-day polling, Hollande received a 12 percent approval rating in the monthly survey by pollster YouGov, down 15 percent from the prior month. Other recent polls have put his popularity at 13 […]

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Tank column crosses from Russia into Ukraine: Kiev military

(Reuters) – A column of 32 tanks, 16 howitzer artillery systems and trucks carrying ammunition and fighters has crossed into eastern Ukraine from Russia, the Kiev military said on Friday. “The deployment continues of military equipment and Russian mercenaries to the front lines,” spokesman Andriy Lysenko said in a televised briefing referring to Thursday’s cross-border incursion. The report of a new Russian movement of armor across the border follows a charge on Thursday by pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine that […]

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Texas nurse, now free of Ebola, defends her work and travels

BY SUSAN HEAVEY (Reuters) – One of the Texas nurses who helped treat a Liberian man with Ebola last month defended her decision to fly after that, saying she had not been barred from traveling and felt normal during her trip. In televised interviews on Thursday, Amber Vinson, 29, also said she had received little training in handling patients with the virus that has ravaged West Africa, and had no experience with the protective gear needed […]

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Obama, Republicans sound conciliatory note but battles loom

(Reuters) – President Barack Obama and his powerful U.S. Senate adversary struck a conciliatory tone on Wednesday, but Obama’s plans to proceed with new immigration rules foreshadowed a bumpy start to his relationship with a Republican-controlled Congress. Obama and Mitch McConnell, who will become majority leader when Republicans take charge in the Senate in January, signaled they hoped to get past a previously frosty relationship to pass legislation on priorities on which they can both agree. Republicans […]

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Pakistani police officer axes man to death over blasphemy

(Reuters) – A policeman in Pakistan hacked a man to death for allegedly making derogatory remarks about the companions of the Prophet Muhammad, police said, just two days after a Christian couple was lynched over blasphemy in the same province. The man, Tufail Haider, 55, was taken into custody late on Wednesday in the city of Gujrat after a group of people allegedly overheard him making the remarks, beat him up and handed over to […]

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U.S. continues strikes against Islamic State in Syria, Iraq: U.S. Central Command

(Reuters) – The United States continued its assault on Islamic State militants this week, conducting 14 airstrikes in recent days in Syria and Iraq, U.S. Central Command said in a statement on Wednesday. From Monday through Wednesday, U.S. military forces launched three strikes near the Syrian border town of Kobani and one strike to the north in Sinjar. The strikes hit a small unit of militant fighters as well as two fighting positions, Central Command said. In Iraq, the […]

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After Republican rout, Obama tells voters: ‘I hear you’

(Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama acknowledged on Wednesday that “Republicans had a good night” with sweeping election victories in Congress and said he got a message from voters that it was his responsibility to break a Washington gridlock. Republicans seized control of the U.S. Senate in Tuesday’s election and captured their biggest majority in the House of Representatives in more than 60 years. The party also won more than half of the 36 governors’ races. “As […]

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