EU offers Brexit trade talks, sets tough transition terms
VALLETTA/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union offered Britain talks this year on a future free trade pact but made clear in negotiating guidelines issued on Friday that London must first agree to EU demands on the terms of Brexit.
Pentagon responds to criticism over civilian deaths in Mosul blast
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Pentagon on Thursday said it would soon release a video showing Islamic State militants herding civilians into a building in the Iraqi city of Mosul and then firing from it, the U.S. military’s latest response to an outcry ov…
Former Brazil house speaker Cunha sentenced to 15 years for graft
SAO PAULO (Reuters) – A federal court sentenced Brazil’s former speaker of the lower house, Eduardo Cunha, to more than 15 years in prison on Thursday for corruption, making him the highest-profile political conviction yet in the “Operation Car Wash” s…
Trump grants U.S. military more authority to attack militants in Somalia
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House has granted the U.S. military broader authority to carry out strikes in Somalia against al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militants, the Pentagon said on Thursday, the latest sign President Donald Trump is increasing U.S…
‘El Chapo’ prison conditions worst in U.S., prevent proper defense: lawyers
(Reuters) – Held without access to sunlight or his relatives, Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is under more restrictive captivity than any other U.S. prisoner and it is difficult to mount a defense, his court appointed lawyers said on Thurs…
U.N. experts see ‘alarming’ U.S. trend against free speech, protest
GENEVA (Reuters) – Nineteen U.S. states have introduced bills that would curb freedom of expression and the right to protest since Donald Trump’s election as president, an “alarming and undemocratic” trend, U.N. human rights investigators said on Thurs…
Russia develops a taste for alcohol-free beer as government fights drinking
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russians are among the biggest drinkers of alcohol in the world, yet are developing a new taste for alcohol-free beer, which could help save a brewing industry that has stalled under government initiatives to discourage drinking.
U.S. priority on Syria no longer focused on ‘getting Assad out’: Haley
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The United States’ diplomatic policy on Syria for now is no longer focused on making the war-torn country’s president, Bashar al-Assad, leave power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said on Thursday, in a departure from th…
A year on, Myanmar’s Suu Kyi acknowledges reforms have been slow
YANGON (Reuters) – A year after sweeping to power in a historic vote, Myanmar’s first de-facto civilian leader in about half a century, Aung San Suu Kyi, acknowledged on Thursday the public’s frustration with the slow pace of reforms and development.
NATO says still has ‘clear disagreements’ with Russia over Ukraine
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – NATO still has “clear disagreements” with Russia over the Ukraine crisis and expects Moscow to do more to rein in armed separatists battling Kiev’s forces, the Atlantic alliance’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday…
