World
South Korea set for live-fire drills despite North threat
YEONPYEONG, South Korea (Reuters) - South Korean marines were poised on Saturday to conduct a live-fire drill off the west coast despite a threat by the North to launch a new strike and Beijing's call for restraint from the rival states. Full Article
Venezuela assembly gives Chavez decree powers
CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's parliament gave President Hugo Chavez the power to rule by decree for 18 months on Friday, outraging opponents who accuse him of turning South America's biggest oil producer into a dictatorship. Full Article
Snow causes pre-Christmas travel chaos in Europe
BERLIN (Reuters) - Heavy snow and freezing temperatures caused travel chaos across northern Europe on Friday, with hundreds of German flights cancelled and icy roads wreaking havoc in Poland and the Netherlands ahead of Christmas. Full Article
Will bandages mend broken ties in the DRC?
The relations between First Quantum and the Democratic Republic of Congo have gone from bad to worse in recent months, after the country expropriated the miner’s $765 million Kolwezi copper tailings project in September. Blog
Africa optimism rising
When some of the most influential figures in emerging markets finance spoke to a group of Reuters editors, they were asked about top picks for growth beyond the so-called BRIC countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China. Blog
Nile River row: Could it turn violent?
The giggles started when the seventh journalist in a row said that his question was for Egypt’s water and irrigation minister, Mohamed Nasreddin Allam. Blog
Libya: a mixed bag
It has debt levels to die for and huge amounts of oil, but economically it’s lagging and political concerns remain. Speakers at a Libyan trade and investment forum this week saw the North African country as a mixed bag. Blog
If Guinea Can…
If Guinea can pull off free and fair elections this weekend, it will lay the foundations for what could be one of Africa’s most unexpected and significant good news stories. Blog
Africa takes the stage in London
Africa is providing a lot of fine material for the London theatre these days. Blog