Putin, before election, unveils new nuclear weapons to counter West
MOSCOW (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin unveiled an array of new nuclear weapons on Thursday, in one of his most bellicose speeches in years, saying they could hit almost any point in the world and not be intercepted.
‘Got a better idea?’ EU’s Tusk to ask May on Irish Brexit
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Donald Tusk defended an EU plan to control Northern Ireland’s trade regulation after Brexit which has angered the British, saying he would ask Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday if she had any better idea.
U.N. says Russia must upgrade its Eastern Ghouta aid plan
GENEVA (Reuters) – A Russian plan for a five-hour pause in fighting in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta needs to be upgraded to allow aid deliveries and medical evacuations, which must not be linked to prisoner swaps, the United Nations officials told reporters …
Exclusive: U.S. mulls sanctions on Venezuela to put pressure on Maduro
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Trump administration is considering sanctioning a Venezuelan military-run oil services company and restricting insurance coverage for Venezuelan oil shipments to ratchet up pressure on socialist President Nicolas Maduro, a U….
South Africa’s Ramaphosa says aims to resolve land issue ‘once and for all’
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday he wants talks on the thorny topic of land expropriation to avoid panic but aims to resolve the issue of racial disparities in property ownership “once and for all”.
Exclusive: Israel’s El Al seeks international help to access Saudi airspace
TEL AVIV (Reuters) – Israel’s flag carrier El Al has asked an airline industry lobby group to help it access Saudi Arabian airspace, so it can compete with Air India’s [AIN.UL] planned route between India and Israel.
Putin: Moscow would regard nuclear attack on allies as attack on Russia
MOSCOW (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Moscow would regard a nuclear attack on its allies as a nuclear attack on Russia itself and would immediately respond.
Council of Europe urges Greece to step up anti-corruption efforts
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece needs to step up efforts to prevent corruption by lawmakers and judges and improve transparency of party financing, the Council of Europe said in two reports on Thursday.
Taliban pour cold water on invitation to Afghan peace talks
KABUL (Reuters) – The Taliban on Thursday issued a cool response to proposals that they should begin peace talks with the Afghan government, a day after President Ashraf Ghani offered a pact to recognize the insurgents as a legitimate party in negotiat…
Ukraine parliament approves anti-corruption court law in first reading
KIEV (Reuters) – The Ukrainian parliament on Thursday approved in the first reading a draft law to create an anti-corruption court, a step towards fulfilling requirements for a long-delayed loan tranche from the International Monetary Fund.
