MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin will keep his official country residence when his term ends next year, exploiting a traditional perk for outgoing heads of state, the Kremlin’s chief property manager said.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Forty senior al Qaeda in Iraq members were either captured or killed in November, including a senior adviser to the Sunni Islamist group’s leader, the U.S. military said on Tuesday.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union was in disarray on Tuesday over Russia’s widely criticized parliamentary election after French President Nicolas Sarkozy telephoned President Vladimir Putin to congratulate him.