Faulty door handle sabotages Putin’s inspection of military equipment
SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) – An effort to show off the superiority of Russian military equipment backfired on Thursday when the door handle of a jeep fell off just as President Vladimir Putin was inspecting the vehicle.
Turkey’s AKP woos embattled nationalists to bolster Erdogan powers
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s ruling AK Party is seeking support from the nationalist opposition for constitutional changes to increase President Tayyip Erdogan’s powers, but any alliance hinges on whether its veteran leader can fight off a bid to oust h…
Pope Francis to look at giving women increased Church role: report
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis has agreed to set up a commission into whether women could serve as deacons, local media reported on Thursday, a potentially historic move that could end male dominance of the Roman Catholic clergy.
Street protests and confidence vote test French government on labor reform
PARIS (Reuters) – French President Francois Hollande on Thursday faced a growing revolt in the streets and a wave of transport strikes over his decision to force through labor reforms, while his government braced for a vote of confidence called by the …
German SPD leader faces revolt from left keen to end Merkel coalition
BERLIN (Reuters) – A no-nonsense cleaning lady who humiliated the leader of Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD) on camera by accusing him of selling out to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives has galvanized a party rank-and-file desperate for a leftw…
Shadowy unit seeks to exploit Afghan Taliban divisions in south
LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan (Reuters) – A shadowy new unit run by Afghanistan’s main intelligence agency has begun operations in southern Helmand province with a mission to exploit divisions within the Taliban insurgency, government officials and a milita…
Turkish, European leaders stand their ground in impasse over migrants deal
ANKARA/BERLIN (Reuters) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan ratcheted up the pressure on Europe over a landmark migrants deal on Thursday, accusing the bloc of setting new hurdles for visa-free travel and threatening Ankara may go its own way if they fa…
Slovenia accepts first 28 migrants under EU relocation quota
LJUBLJANA (Reuters) – Slovenia said it took in its first 28 migrants on Thursday under a European Union relocation scheme that many other EU countries have been slow to carry out or rejected outright.
Ahmadinejad’s return to public eye in Iran fuels talk of a comeback
BEIRUT (Reuters) – On a podium decorated as a bunker from the Iran-Iraq war, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad woos a crowd of hundreds with an anti-Western speech reminiscent of his fiery addresses as Iran’s president.
Hackers try to attack Merkel’s party, security consultants say
BERLIN (Reuters) – A group of hackers that cyber-security experts say targets critics of the Russian government has been trying since April to attack the computer systems of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union party, a security…
