CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptians voted steadily for a second day on Thursday to choose their leader freely for the first time in six decades of military-backed rule, thanks to last year's popular revolt that swept Hosni Mubarak from power. The election is a defining moment for Egypt, whose 50 million voters can decide whether to [...]

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iran accused world powers on Thursday of creating "a difficult atmosphere" hindering talks on its atomic energy program, signaling a snag in diplomacy to ease a stand-off over fears of a covert Iranian effort to develop nuclear bombs. The nub of the dispute was not immediately clear as the high-stakes negotiations in [...]

KABUL (Reuters) – Gunmen in Afghanistan are demanding money for the release of five aid workers, including two Western women doctors, held in remote mountains and authorities have opened negotiations in the hope of freeing them, an investigator said on Thursday. The aid workers employed by Swiss-based aid group Medair were making their way from [...]

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Higher transit fees are the most difficult issue in Pakistan's talks with the United States on re-opening supply routes to NATO forces in Afghanistan, a Pakistani official told Reuters on Thursday. The official said Pakistan was demanding substantially higher fees and that it was not clear when a breakthrough was possible. "It [...]

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt resumed its first free presidential election on Thursday after a first day of voting that passed off mostly calmly, apart from a stone-throwing attack on candidate Ahmed Shafiq, who was premier for a few days before Hosni Mubarak fell. The race broadly pits Islamist candidates against secular ones like Shafiq and [...]