Iceland government appoints new PM, to call early elections
REYKJAVIK (Reuters) – Iceland’s government named a new prime minister and called for early elections in the autumn on Wednesday, a day after Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson quit to become the first global politician brought down by the “Pan…
Islamic State nets millions from antiquities: Russia
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq are netting between $150 million and $200 million a year from illicit trade in plundered antiquities, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations said in a letter released on Wednesday….
Cypriot authorities have agreed to extradite EgyptAir hijacker: MENA
CAIRO (Reuters) – Cypriot authorities have agreed to hand over an Egyptian man accused of hijacking a passenger plane and diverting it to Cyprus, Egyptian state news agency MENA said on Wednesday.
Croatian hoping to lead U.N. says she is ‘not a gender-neutral candidate’
NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Croatian politician Vesna Pusic, hoping to become the next Secretary-General of the United Nations, says being a woman plays a key role in her election bid by shining a light on her career of gender equality acti…
Iraqi PM’s nominee as finance minister withdraws candidacy
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Ali Allawi, whom Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi nominated last week to serve as finance minister in a new technocratic government, withdrew his candidacy on Wednesday, citing “political interventions and partisan bickering”.
U.N. envoy urges rapid Libya handover as fragile peace holds
TUNIS (Reuters) – The U.N. envoy to Libya has urged a rapid, complete handover of power to a unity government that arrived in Tripoli a week ago, warning that a fragile peace in the city may not hold if the new government is unable to deliver.
One of Brussels bombers had worked in EU Parliament: spokesman
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – One of the Islamic State suicide bombers who killed 32 people in Brussels on March 22 had worked as a cleaner for a short period in the European Parliament six years earlier, a spokesman for the EU assembly said on Thursday.
Woman in ‘Vatileaks’ trial denies having sex with priest co-defendant
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – A woman charged with leaking Vatican documents denied on Wednesday that she had had sex with a priest, telling a court he revealed secrets about his private life to her in a hotel room while his mother slept.
Islamic State attacks Syrian forces near Damascus
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Islamic State fighters launched attacks on government-held areas near Damascus overnight in what a Syrian source said appeared to be a response to the group’s loss of ground elsewhere.
France’s Macron launches new political movement
PARIS (Reuters) – French Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday he was launching a new political movement which he wants to be neither of the left or the right, just a year before France’s presidential elections.
