KHARTOUM — Food supplies are critically low in many parts of southern Sudan, exposing thousands of people to starvation, the region’s leaders and humanitarian agencies have warned. They blame the looming crisis on a poor harvest, the return of thousands of refugees and the inability of humanitarian agencies to provide …

TEHRAN (AFP) — Two high-profile candidates for Iran’s presidency raised the stakes in their campaigns Wednesday, both evoking the taboo topic of relations with the United States and one challenging the status of the Islamic republic’s supreme leader. “We have to democratise the political system,” said Mohammad Reza Khatami, the …

THE HAGUE (AFP) — Dutch voters fired a second shot to the heart of the European project Wednesday, rejecting the first-ever EU constitution after a campaign that exposed deep divisions over the direction of Europe. Projections based on more than half the ballots cast in the referendum showed 62.6 per …

BAGHDAD (AP) — A mortar barrage killed three children and their uncle as they played together outside their south Baghdad home, the latest deaths in an insurgency that claimed a total of six lives Wednesday and showed no signs of slowing down. Twelve-year-old Sabaa Haitham, her younger brother Sajjad, 10, …

The Majlis, on behalf of Iranian people, is exercising close supervision over the nuclear talks, said Majlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel here on Wednesday. Haddad Adel told reporters, “We stress peaceful use of nuclear energy as a right of the Iranian nation and consider confidence-building as being in line with …

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Jun 1–A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a mosque in Kandahar in southern Afghanistan, killing at least 27 people including the police chief of the capital Kabul, witnesses and officials told AFP. The blast occurred as prayers were offered for an Islamic cleric who was shot dead …

TRIPOLI, Libya — In a surprise move Tuesday (31 May), Libya’s Supreme Court delayed until 15 November its ruling in the case against five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor who were accused of spreading the HIV virus in Benghazi. A lower court sentenced the six medics to death more …

NICOSIA, Cyprus — UN Undersecretary General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast met with Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos, according to a UN press release issued Tuesday (31 May). The UN envoy, who kicked off a several-day tour of the region, is expected to meet with Turkish Cypriot President Mehmet Ali Talat …

BUCHAREST, Romania — NATO’s early warning and air control system NAEW and C was presented to the Romanian Air Force Staff on Tuesday (31 May). A demonstration flight was conducted aboard an AWACS surveillance aircraft. In other news, Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia will participate Thursday in a proliferation security initiative …

ANKARA, Turkey — Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said Tuesday (31 May) that the country is ready to sign an expanded customs union agreement with the EU, which includes Cyprus. He added that the document awaits some finalisation on the EU side. Sealing the treaty is the main condition set by …