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EU proposes Iran nuclear talks, hopes for Iranian confirmation

MUNICH (Reuters) - World powers have proposed holding a new round of talks with Iran over Tehran's nuclear work in the week of February 25 in Kazakhstan, a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said on Sunday. However, Ashton's team, which coordinates diplomatic contacts with Iran on its nuclear program on behalf of the United States, Russia, China, France, Germany and Britain, is still hoping for confirmation of the date and venue from Iran's negotiating team, the spokesman said. (Reporting by Adrian Croft)

Biden raises possibility of direct U.S.-Iran talks

MUNICH (Reuters) - The United States is ready for direct talks with Iran if it is serious about negotiations, Vice President Joe Biden said on Saturday, backing bilateral contact many see as crucial to easing a dispute over Tehran's nuclear program. Speaking at a security conference in Munich, Biden said Iran - which says it is enriching uranium for peaceful energy only - now faced "the most robust sanctions in history" meant to ensure it does not develop nuclear weapons. ...


Support for Spain's ruling party falls in corruption scandal

MADRID (Reuters) - Public support for Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and his ruling People's Party has fallen as they have been engulfed by a corruption scandal, an opinion poll showed on Sunday. Media reports over the past fortnight have alleged that at least a dozen top party officials, including Rajoy, received kickbacks from a slush fund operated by its former treasurer. While Rajoy has vehemently denied any wrongdoing, the growing scandal has provoked the fury of Spaniards who were already disenchanted with the government's handling of a deep economic recession and high ...


Opposition, rebels take key posts in new Central African Republic government

BANGUI (Reuters) - Opposition parties and a rebel coalition took key ministerial posts, including finance and mining, in a new government announced on Sunday as part of a peace deal in the Central African Republic. President Francois Bozize agreed in mid-January to the formation of a national unity government as part of the deal to end an insurgency which swept to within striking distance of Bangui, capital of the mineral-rich former French colony. ...

Iran says talks with Syria opposition could help stop bloodshed

BERLIN (Reuters) - Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said on Sunday his talks with the Syrian opposition leader in Munich one day earlier could contribute to finding a solution to the war in Syria. Salehi said Syrian National Coalition leader Moaz Alkhatib's comments to him, in their talks late on Saturday, that he would be willing to talk with representatives of the Syrian government if prisoners were released represented "a good step forward". ...

Pakistan army battles legacy of mistrust in Taliban heartland

CHAGMALAI, Pakistan (Reuters) - In a Pakistan army base high in the mountains on the Afghan frontier, a general explains a strategy for fighting the Taliban he calls simply "WHAM". The name has a distinctly bellicose ring. But the soldiers are learning to fight a new kind of war in a region U.S. President Barack Obama has called the most dangerous on Earth. "WHAM - winning hearts and minds," explains the straight-talking General Nazir Butt, in charge of converting the army's gains on the battlefield into durable security. ...


AP Exclusive: 787 grounded, but batteries can fly

WASHINGTON (AP) — At the time the government certified Boeing's 787 Dreamliners as safe, federal rules barred the type of batteries used to power the airliner's electrical systems from being carried as cargo on passenger planes because of the fire risk.


Iran's Salehi says six powers set February 25 meeting

MUNICH (Reuters) - Six world powers have proposed to hold a new round of talks with Iran on its nuclear program in Kazakhstan on February 25, Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said on Sunday. "I have good news - I heard yesterday that the P5+1 or EU3+3 will be meeting in Kazakhstan on February 25," he said at the Munich Security Conference. He did not make clear whether Iran had agreed to the meeting. He said he took with "positive consideration" comments by U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday in which he held out the possibility of direct talks with Iran. ...

Pakistan army battles legacy of mistrust in Taliban heartland

CHAGMALAI, Pakistan (Reuters) - In a Pakistan army base high in the mountains on the Afghan frontier, a general explains a strategy for fighting the Taliban he calls simply "WHAM". The name has a distinctly bellicose ring. But the soldiers are learning to fight a new kind of war in a region U.S. President Barack Obama has called the most dangerous on Earth. "WHAM - winning hearts and minds," explains the straight-talking General Nazir Butt, in charge of converting the army's gains on the battlefield into durable security. ...


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