El Salvador court sentences ex-President Funes to 14 years in prison

By Nelson Renteria SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) – A court in El Salvador sentenced former President Mauricio Funes and his justice minister to more than a decade behind bars for their ties to criminal groups and failure to comply with duties, the attorney general’s office said on Monday. Funes was sentenced to 14 years and his…

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Wildfire in Canada’s Halifax leads to evacuation orders for thousands of homes

By Eric Martyn and Kanishka Singh HALIFAX (Reuters) – A wildfire in the eastern Canadian city of Halifax led to mandatory evacuation orders for thousands of homes, and officials said residents will not be not allowed to return until advised by municipal authorities. Halifax Mayor Mike Savage said the evacuations impacted about 18,000 people. The…

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Turkey’s Erdogan triumphs in election test, extending 20-year rule

By Daren Butler and Ezgi Erkoyun ISTANBUL (Reuters) – President Tayyip Erdogan and supporters on Monday revelled in an election victory lengthening his rule into a third decade while Turkey’s opposition, which once counted on winning, braced for “difficult days” against an increasingly autocratic government. His rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu said it was “the most unfair…

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Republicans speak out against US debt-ceiling deal, in sign of rocky road ahead

By Gram Slattery and Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A handful of hard-right Republican lawmakers said on Monday they would oppose a deal to raise the United States’ $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, in a sign that the bipartisan agreement could face a rocky path through Congress before the U.S. runs out of money next week. Although…

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Maduro and Lula hit out at US sanctions on Venezuela

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and Brazilian leader Luis Inacio Lula de Silva on Monday assailed U.S. sanctions against Venezuela and Maduro said he hopes a regional South American summit in Brasilia will call for their removal. Lula called the U.S. sanctions “extremely exaggerated” and criticized the United States for denying the legitimacy…

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Around 25 NATO peacekeepers injured in clashes in Kosovo’s north -statement

LEPOSAVIC, Kosovo (Reuters) – Around 25 NATO peacekeepers have been injured in clashes with Serbs protesting against Albanian mayors taking office in Serb majority municipalities in the north of Kosovo, the NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo KFOR said in a statement. “While countering the most active fringes of the crowd, several soldiers of the Italian…

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Nigeria’s new President Tinubu promises economic reboot

By Felix Onuah and MacDonald Dzirutwe ABUJA (Reuters) -Nigeria’s new President Bola Tinubu vowed at his swearing-in on Monday to expand the economy by at least 6% a year, lift barriers to investment, create jobs and unify the exchange rate, while also tackling rampant insecurity. Tinubu inherits a struggling economy with record debt, shortages of…

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