Islamic groups report Indonesian politician for reciting ‘blasphemous’ poem
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Hardline Islamic groups on Wednesday filed a blasphemy complaint against a daughter of Indonesia’s first president, accusing her of reciting a poem insulting Islam and prompting fresh concerns over intolerance in the world’s most po…
France hit by second day of rail chaos as strike bites
PARIS (Reuters) – Millions of French commuters suffered a second consecutive day of travel chaos on Wednesday as striking rail workers locked horns with President Emmanuel Macron’s government in a dispute over reforming the state-owned SNCF railways.
Lawyers for Reuters reporters argue for Myanmar court to dismiss case
YANGON (Reuters) – Lawyers for two Reuters reporters jailed in Myanmar asked a judge on Wednesday to dismiss the case against them, arguing there was insufficient evidence to support charges of obtaining secret government papers.
Britain: Russian proposal for joint Salisbury probe ‘perverse’
THE HAGUE (Reuters) – The British delegation to the global chemical weapons body on Wednesday dismissed a Russian proposal for a joint U.K.-Russian investigation into the Salisbury poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal as “perverse”.
Mali war crimes suspect to appear before war crimes judges in The Hague
THE HAGUE (Reuters) – An Islamist militant suspected of committing war crimes in Mali is due to appear before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on Wednesday, three days after the Malian authorities handed him over into the court’s cus…
Rebels release five prisoners in Syria’s Ghouta: monitor, state TV
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian rebel group Jaish al-Islam released five prisoners on Wednesday as part of a deal over the eastern Ghouta town of Douma, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Italy’s 5-Star seeks governing contract with rivals as talks begin
ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s anti-establishment 5-Star Movement proposed a German-style governing contract with two of its rivals as formal talks aimed at seating a government began on Wednesday, a month after an election ended with a hung parliament.
Turkish, Iranian leaders meet ahead of Syria summit with Russia
ANKARA (Reuters) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani held talks in Ankara on Wednesday with his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan ahead of a three-way summit with Russia on the Syrian conflict.
Russian spy chief says feels like Cold War is back
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s foreign intelligence agency chief Sergei Naryshkin said on Wednesday that Washington’s actions toward Russia mean its possible to start speaking of a return to the Cold War era.
Russia expects international cooperation on security of World Cup
MOSCOW (Reuters) – The director of Russia’s main domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Security Service, or FSB, said on Wednesday he expects cooperation with his agency’s counterparts in other countries will help Russia host a successful World Cup…
