South Africa police deny Gordhan inquiry moved to new unit
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s elite Hawks police unit denied on Sunday a report that an investigation involving Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, which has helped to weaken the rand, has been transferred to another part of the force.
Five Ukrainian soldiers killed in separatist attacks
KIEV (Reuters) – Five Ukrainian servicemen have been killed and four wounded in the past 24 hours as a result of attacks by pro-Russian rebels in separatist eastern regions, Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said on Sunday.
Iran assembly head wins initial re-election vote: state media
DUBAI (Reuters) – Moderate conservative Ali Larijani was re-elected on Sunday as the temporary speaker of Iran’s new parliament which is dominated by first-term deputies.
Polish minister says missile shield no threat to Russia: report
WARSAW (Reuters) – The U.S. missile shield to be located in Poland does not pose a threat to Russia’s security, Poland’s state-run news agency PAP quoted Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski as saying on Sunday.
Seventeen killed in care home fire in Ukraine
KIEV (Reuters) – Seventeen people have been killed after a fire broke out in a residential building housing elderly people in a village near Kiev, Ukraine’s state emergency service said in a statement on Sunday.
Venezuela government, opposition meet with mediators in Dominican Republic
CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s opposition and top government officials said on Saturday they met with a group of mediators in the Dominican Republic to lay the groundwork for a dialogue amid a political standoff and a deepening economic crisis.
Canada’s Trudeau defends assisted suicide bill as deadline nears
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) – A bill legalizing medically-assisted suicide in Canada strikes the right balance between defending fundamental freedoms and protecting against abuses, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Saturday, predicting confusion i…
Chile President Bachelet testifies in tax probe into daughter-in-law
SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Chile’s President Michelle Bachelet voluntarily testified earlier this week with the national prosecutor’s office as part of a probe into alleged tax crimes by her daughter-in-law Natalia Compagnon, the government said late on Frid…
Eleven people struck by lightning in Paris, six seriously hurt
PARIS (Reuters) – Eleven people were struck by a bolt of lightning in a park in Paris on Saturday and six of them were seriously hurt, the French interior ministry said.
Iraqi Sunni politicians reject visit by Iran’s Soleimani to Falluja
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Sunni politicians in Iraq condemned on Saturday a visit by Iranian General Qassem Soleimani to Shi’ite paramilitary forces fighting alongside the Iraqi army to drive Islamic State militants out of the Sunni city of Falluja.
