Wavering Egyptians vote for president

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptians, choosing their leader freely for the first time in history, voted for a second day on Thursday in an election that is a fruit of last year's popular revolt against Hosni Mubarak.

Iran talks with world powers hit snag over sanctions

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iran accused world powers on Thursday of creating "a difficult atmosphere" that had hindered talks on its atomic energy program, signaling a snag in diplomacy to defuse fears of a covert Iranian effort to develop nuclear bombs.

U.S. drone strike kills 10 in northwest Pakistan: officials

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (Reuters) - A U.S. drone strike on suspected Islamist militants in northwest Pakistan killed 10 people on Thursday, Pakistani intelligence officials said, an attack likely to raise tensions in a standoff with Washington over NATO supply routes to Afghanistan.

Divided Syrian opposition to choose new leader

AMMAN (Reuters) - The main Syrian National Council opposition group said it had accepted the resignation of its president, setting the stage for a showdown between the powerful Muslim Brotherhood and its political rivals over who will be the new leader.

Suu Kyi to make first trip out of Myanmar in 24 years: party

YANGON (Reuters) - Nobel laureate and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will travel outside Myanmar for the first time in 24 years next week to deliver a speech at an international forum in Thailand, her party said on Thursday.

Brother of blind China activist flees village

BEIJING (Reuters) - The brother of blind activist Chen Guangcheng has fled his village in northeastern China, evading a security clampdown to seek help from lawyers for his son who has been detained in a case that has become a rallying point among rights activists.

Pakistan seeks face-saving formula in NATO talks

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan is unlikely to re-open supply routes to NATO troops in Afghanistan unless the United States offers a politically acceptable formula in talks on ending a six-month standoff on the issue, a Pakistani official said on Thursday.

New Serb president reassures EU, heads to Russia

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbian President-elect Tomislav Nikolic told the European Union on Thursday he would "insist" the country stick to its pro-European path, a day before heading to Russia on his first foreign trip since being elected.

Why are Greek and Italian politicians so bad?

ROME (Reuters) - In Greece, conservative leader Antonio Samaras insisted on calling an election earlier this month that slashed his own party's share of the vote and set the country down a path that could see it crashing out of the euro.

Leaders of French right feud before election

PARIS (Reuters) - The shock of Nicolas Sarkozy's failure to win re-election as French president has triggered a power struggle in his centre-right UMP party that could hurt its showing in next month's parliamentary election.