Mexico names new U.S. ambassador, starts role after Trump inauguration
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico named Geronimo Gutierrez, the head of the North American Development Bank, as the new ambassador to the United States, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday.
Serbia says it will retaliate if France refuses to hand over Kosovo ex-PM
BELGRADE (Reuters) – Serbia said on Friday it would refuse to extradite people sought by France if French authorities failed to hand over a former Kosovo prime minister and guerrilla commander who is charged with war crimes by Belgrade.
Germany invites Russian minister on EU sanctions list to G20 meeting
BERLIN/MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachev, who is on a European Union list of Russians banned from entering the bloc, will next week attend a meeting in Berlin with his G20 counterparts at Germany’s invitation.
Turkey’s parliament approves key articles of constitutional reform
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s parliament has approved key measures allowing the president to be a member of a political party and issue decrees, part of a constitutional reform the opposition says will fuel authoritarianism.
Modi in a spin as he replaces Gandhi as face of India’s homespun cotton
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has replaced independence hero Mahatma Gandhi as the 2017 face of the government’s traditional handloom and cotton industry, triggering criticism on Friday.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards position for power
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Iran’s Revolutionary Guards look set to entrench their power and shift the country to more hardline, isolationist policies for years to come following the death of influential powerbroker Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
U.N. alarmed at migrants dying of cold, ‘dire’ situation in Greece
GENEVA (Reuters) – Refugees and migrants are dying in Europe’s cold snap and governments must do more to help them rather than pushing them back from borders and subjecting them to violence, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said on Friday.
Syrian army says Israel fires rockets at airbase near Damascus
AMMAN (Reuters) – Syrian army command said on Friday that Israeli artillery fired rockets at a major military airbase outside Damascus, and warned Israel of repercussions for what it called a “flagrant” attack.
Cyprus president foresees ‘radical’ reform of island’s security
GENEVA (Reuters) – Talks on reunifying Cyprus should produce a “radical” change in the island’s security situation, which is currently guaranteed by Greece, Turkey and Britain, Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades told a news conference in Geneva on Fri…
Erdogan says early Turkish election not desirable, but not unthinkable
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday early elections would not be out of the question if parliament becomes unable to do its job, as lawmakers debate constitutional changes which would introduce a full presidential syste…
