Poland’s president signs disputed amendment to top court powers
WARSAW (Reuters) – The European Commission is to examine the issue of Poland’s constitutional court next month, PAP news agency said on Monday, after the Polish president signed into law disputed amendments to the court’s powers.
South Korea, Japan agree to irreversibly end ‘comfort women’ row
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea and Japan reached a landmark agreement on Monday to resolve the issue of “comfort women”, as those who were forced to work in Japan’s wartime brothels were euphemistically known, an issue that has long plagued ties between…
Bombs in Syria’s Homs kill 32, wound 90: monitoring group
BEIRUT (Reuters) – At least 32 people were killed and 90 wounded in two bomb explosions in the Syrian city of Homs on Monday, monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Exclusive: Seized documents reveal Islamic State’s Department of ‘War Spoils’
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Islamic State has set up departments to handle “war spoils,” including slaves, and the exploitation of natural resources such as oil, creating the trappings of government that enable it to manage large swaths of Syria and Iraq an…
Special Report: Pentagon thwarts Obama’s effort to close Guantanamo
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – In September, U.S. State Department officials invited a foreign delegation to the Guantanamo Bay detention center to persuade the group to take detainee Tariq Ba Odah to their country. If they succeeded, the transfer would mark a small step toward realizing President Barack Obama’s goal of closing the prison before he leaves office.
Russian officials get quirky holiday gift: a book of Putin’s one liners
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Some of Vladimir Putin’s saltiest one liners have been turned into a book by his supporters who have sent a batch to the Kremlin touting it as the ideal holiday gift for patriotic Russian officials.
Britain needs ‘rethink’ on flood defense after swathes of England hit
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain needs a ‘complete rethink’ of its flood defenses after towns, cities and countryside across northern England were inundated when rivers broke their banks in recent days, a government agency said on Monday.
Saudi security spending rises $5.3 billion in 2015: minister
DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia increased its military and security spending in 2015 by about 20 billion riyals ($5.3 billion), Economy and Planning Minister Adel Fakieh told reporters on Monday.
Around 20 soldiers arrested in Burkina over jail break plot
OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) – Authorities in Burkina Faso have arrested around 20 soldiers for plotting to free from prison a prominent general who has been charged with staging a coup, Prime Minister Yacouba Isaac Zida told a news conference.
Burundi peace talks start amid divisions, protests
ENTEBBE (Reuters) – Burundi’s government and opposition kicked off peace talks on Monday, though one senior member of the state delegation almost immediately threatened to pull out if he saw participants in a failed coup on the other side of the table….
