Agence France Presse
Latest stories
'Open Door' Draws Aggrieved to Egypt Presidential Palace

Hundreds of Egyptians have been making their way to the presidential palace in Cairo to air their grievances and demand solutions directly from newly-elected President Mohammed Morsi.

For days they have flocked to the palace in the upmarket neighborhood of Heliopolis after Morsi, who was sworn in as Egypt's first civilian president on Saturday, said his doors would be open to all Egyptians.

W140 Full Story
Kenya Cancels Iran Oil Deal after Pressure

Nairobi on Wednesday canceled an oil import deal with Iran that would have broken U.S. and EU embargoes after international pressure, officials said Wednesday.

"It has been canceled - although effectively we never signed any agreement with the Iranian government, what we had was a memorandum of understanding with Iran," the energy ministry's permanent secretary Patrick Nyoike told Agence France Presse.

W140 Full Story
Yemen Air Strike 'Kills 3 Qaida Militants'

Yemeni air forces raided the only town in the southern Abyan province where jihadists still have a strong presence, killing three al-Qaida militants on Wednesday, a top official in the town told Agence France Presse.

"Three al-Qaida militants were killed and seven others wounded in an air strike that targeted one of their positions in the town of Mahfad," said Yaslam al-Anburi.

W140 Full Story
London, Paris Urge Moscow to Stop Backing Assad

Britain and France Wednesday said there could be no political transition in Syria with President Bashar Assad and urged Russia to stop backing its traditional ally.

The comments by British Foreign Secretary William Hague and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius came after world powers agreed in Geneva on Saturday on a plan for transition in Syria.

W140 Full Story
Russia Sees 'Certain Progress' on Iran after Talks

Russia on Wednesday said "certain progress" had been reached at expert-level talks on Iran's nuclear program despite the Islamic Republic's tough terms for scaling back its enrichment activities.

Tuesday's meeting in Istanbul was held after a fourth round of talks between top negotiators on the escalating crisis held in Moscow last month ended in stalemate.

W140 Full Story
Paris Hosts New 'Friends of Syria' Talks as Bloodshed Goes On

France Friday hosts a third "Friends of Syria" meeting aiming to co-ordinate Western and Arab efforts to stop violence in the country, amid reports Russia is being asked to take President Bashar Assad in exile.

The Paris meeting follows one in Tunis in February and another in April in Istanbul that both called in vain for tougher action against the Assad regime.

W140 Full Story
Violence Rages in Homs as 48 Killed across Syria

Syrian troops pounded several districts of the central city of Homs on Wednesday and clashed with rebels as at least 48 people were killed in violence across the country, activists and a watchdog said.

Regime forces killed 12 people in Daraa, nine in the countryside around Damascus, eight in Idlib, seven in Aleppo, five in Deir Ezzor, three in Homs, two in Damscus, one in Latakia and one in Hama, the opposition Local Coordination Committees reported.

W140 Full Story
Nadal Has Tendinitis, Cancels Exhibition Match

Rafael Nadal, knocked out of Wimbledon in the second round last week, is to take two weeks off because of tendonitis in his knee.

The Spaniard will miss a charity match against world number one Novak Djokovic in Madrid's Bernabeu stadium on July 14 but hopes, however, to have fully recovered in time for the July 27-August 12 Olympics in London.

W140 Full Story
Malians Hold Protest against Islamists

Protesters from northern Mali demonstrated in the capital Wednesday against Islamists who have enforced strict sharia law, destroyed ancient shrines and trapped residents with landmines.

Some 2,000 people braved pouring rain to join the sit-in protest at Banako's Independence Square monument, chanting: "We want weapons to liberate the north."

W140 Full Story
Austria: Hundreds of Pedophiles Identified in Global Sweep

Hundreds of pedophiles prowling on the Internet have been identified in an operation in 141 countries, Austrian federal police said Wednesday.

In Austria alone, operation "Carole" found 272 suspects, making it the biggest ever police sweep against child pornography in the small alpine country, police said.

W140 Full Story