Ukraine’s parliament speaker frontrunner to replace PM Yatseniuk
KIEV (Reuters) – Ukraine’s parliamentary speaker emerged on Thursday as the frontrunner to replace the unpopular Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk, signalling a breakthrough in a political crisis that has lasted months.
Greece to expedite new reception centers for rising migrant numbers
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece said on Thursday it would speed up the creation of reception centers for up to 30,000 migrants to help cope with a sharp rise in numbers because of border closures in the Balkans that cut off the main migration route to wealth…
Watered-down French labor bill fails to please business or workers
PARIS (Reuters) – French business leaders urged the government to beef up a revised labor reform bill after pressure from unions and students forced it to scrap plans to limit severance pay.
U.S. frustration simmers over Belgium’s struggle with militant threat
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Shortly after last November’s attacks on Paris by a Brussels-based Islamic State cell, a top U.S. counter-terrorism official traveling in Europe wanted to visit Brussels to learn more about the investigation.
Doctor from Yemen wins Hungarians’ hearts
GYULA, Hungary (Reuters) – Abdulrahman Abdulrab Mohamed sometimes cooks Hungarian beef stew, his favorite dish, for his three sons using spices from Yemen, where he grew up.
U.S. blacklists firms, individuals over Iran missile program
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury Department blacklisted two Iranian companies on Thursday for supporting Iran’s ballistic missile program and also sanctioned two British businessmen it said were helping an airline used by the country’s Revoluti…
U.S. sanctions two people, six firms under Iran program
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on Thursday sanctioned two individuals and six firms, including a number tied to Iran-based Mahan Air, the U.S. Treasury said in a statement on its website.
Iraq launches offensive against Islamic State south of Mosul
BAGHDAD/ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) – Iraq’s armed forces went on the offensive against Islamic State in the northern province of Nineveh on Thursday in what Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi described as the first phase of a campaign to liberate areas around t…
Surviving Paris attacks suspect wants to return to ‘explain himself’: lawyer
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Salah Abdeslam, the prime surviving suspect in November’s Paris attacks, will no longer fight extradition to France as he had vowed to do but instead now wants to return to “explain himself”, his lawyer said on Thursday.
Syria war parties to agree on U.N. basic principles in ‘baby step’
GENEVA (Reuters) – Syrian government and opposition parties at peace talks in Geneva are expected to agree on Thursday to a document drawn up by a U.N. special envoy outlining basic principles in what one diplomat described as a “baby step” forward.
