Housing for refugees takes center stage at Venice Architecture Biennale
VENICE, Italy (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The Venice Architecture Biennale is usually a showcase of prestigious architecture projects from around the world, but Germany’s entry this year has taken a different angle, focusing instead on simple shelte…
Jets bomb Syrian rebel group Ahrar al Sham’s main camp, large numbers killed: monitor
AMMAN (Reuters) – Unidentified jets bombed a major camp of the powerful Islamist Ahrar al Sham insurgent group in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, leaving a large number of dead and wounded, a monitor reported on Tuesday.
Looming EU referendum casts shadow for British retirees in Spain
MOLLINA, Spain (Reuters) – Lured by warmer weather, cheaper property and a Mediterranean lifestyle, some 800,000 Britons have made Spain their home over the last three decades. Now, many are wondering what a British exit from the European Union would m…
Ivory Coast ex-first lady goes on trial for war crimes
ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Ivory Coast’s former first lady, Simone Gbagbo, went on trial on Tuesday, accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes for her alleged role in the civil war that followed a 2010 presidential election and killed around 3,000 peo…
Netanyahu turns to Arab peace plan to face new challenges
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Benjamin Netanyahu has turned to a 14-year-old Arab peace plan in trying to project a softer image internationally for a new governing coalition in Israel widely seen as more hardline toward Palestinian statehood.
Turkey counts cost of conflict as Kurdish militant battle rages on
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey’s conflict with Kurdish militants, said to have killed more than 5,000 people since July, has also destroyed at least 6,000 buildings that will cost approaching 1 billion lira ($340 million) to rebuild, according to a govern…
With Africa trip, Turkey’s Erdogan aims to quash influence of Islamic cleric
ANKARA (Reuters) – When Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan visits Uganda and Kenya this week, he will be seeking not only to increase trade but to stamp out the influence of an Islamic cleric whose network was long an instrument of Turkey’s soft power in…
Bahrain court orders activist freed on humanitarian grounds
DUBAI (Reuters) – A court in Bahrain has ordered the release of a prominent activist, the state news agency BNA said on Tuesday, citing the well-being of Zainab al-Khawaja’s one-year old son who lived in the prison with her.
Savchenko hailed in Ukraine parliament, berates ‘lazy schoolchildren’ lawmakers
KIEV (Reuters) – Ukrainian servicewoman Nadiya Savchenko, whose resistance to her imprisonment in Russia has made her a national hero and a potentially disruptive force in Ukrainian politics, received a standing ovation in her first address to parliame…
China to ‘pressure’ U.S. on maritime issues, paper says
BEIJING (Reuters) – China will “pressure” the United States on maritime issues at talks in Beijing next week because of Chinese concern about an increased U.S. military presence in the disputed South China Sea, a major state-run newspaper said on Tue…
