BISHKEK  – Kyrgyzstan’s parliament will vote next week on whether to shut a U.S. air base, an important staging post for U.S. troops fighting in Afghanistan, Kyrgyz officials said on Thursday. Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev announced closure of the Manas base in Moscow on Tuesday after securing financial aid from …

BAGHDAD  – A suicide bomber killed at least 15 people and wounded 15 others in Diyala province in northeast Iraq Thursday, police said, the bloodiest attack in the country in weeks. The attack comes a few days after Iraq held largely peaceful provincial elections. Results are due later Thursday.

CAIRO  – The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas is expected to give Egypt its response to proposals to reach a truce with Israel Saturday, Egypt’s state-run Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported Thursday. Talks between Egyptian intelligence officials and a Hamas delegation ended Wednesday without a deal. Hamas said Israeli proposals …