Defense firms could struggle to meet jump in NATO demand: Saab CEO
LINKOPING, Sweden/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Pressure from the United States on NATO allies to increase their defense spending could strain the capacity of the arms industry to keep up with demand, the head of Swedish fighter jet and submarine builder Saab s…
France hit by rail strike, demo by weary police
PARIS (Reuters) – Strikes by French railway and port workers halved train services and prompted cancellation of ferry links to Britain on Wednesday as labor unions sought to force President Francois Hollande’s government into retreat on labor law refor…
Many Senate Democrats frustrated with slow U.S. Syrian refugee admissions
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – More than half the Democrats in the Senate, including many of President Barack Obama’s strongest supporters, signed a letter to him on Wednesday urging him to move more quickly to admit Syrian refugees into the United States.
Afghanistan signs draft accord with militant leader
KABUL (Reuters) – Afghanistan signed a draft agreement with the Hezb-e-Islami militant group on Wednesday in a move the government hopes could lead to a full peace accord with one of the most notorious warlords in the insurgency.
NATO urges candidate Macedonia to overcome political crisis
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – NATO’s secretary-general warned Macedonia on Wednesday not to let its political crisis wreck its hopes of joining the Atlantic alliance.
Citizens of Sanaa yearn for end to Yemen’s war
SANAA (Reuters) – Anxiety reigns in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, where ordinary people await the outcome of almost a month of peace talks they hope can end a devastating war.
Iraq’s Sadr pulls out forces from Baghdad districts hit by bombs
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Powerful Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has ordered his armed followers to withdraw from the streets of Baghdad districts that have been hit by deadly bombings claimed by Islamic State, an aide said on Wednesday.
Queen unveils British government’s reform agenda ahead of EU vote
LONDON (Reuters) – Queen Elizabeth unveiled plans by British Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday to overhaul prisons and help the poor under a social reform agenda he hopes to press after a referendum on European Union membership.
EU appeals to states as migrant moves 97 percent short of target
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – EU states virtually ignored a European Commission target for them to take in some 20,000 asylum seekers from Greece and Italy by mid-May, the bloc’s executive said on Wednesday, renewing a call for more action.
Thai officials deny bomb suspect beaten in custody
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thai officials on Wednesday denied that one of two ethnic Uighur Muslims from China accused of involvement in a deadly bombing in Thailand last year was beaten in custody.
