Syrian opposition groups choose ex-PM to represent them in talks
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Members of a Syrian opposition body set up in Saudi Arabia last week chose former prime minister Riad Hijab on Thursday to represent them in the conflict’s troubled peace process, sources said.
Spanish firms fret over hiring costs in election run-up
MADRID (Reuters) – Elba Leandro is keen to hire more staff for her flourishing spa business in Tenerife, but she’s just not sure how soon she can afford the high welfare costs that adding to her 60-strong workforce will entail.
North Korea sentences Canadian pastor to hard labor for life
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea’s highest court has sentenced a South Korea-born Canadian pastor to hard labor for life for subversion, the North’s official KCNA news agency reported on Wednesday, a punishment Canada condemned as “unduly harsh.”
Putin: Russia did have people in Ukraine doing ‘certain military tasks’
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia did have personnel in eastern Ukraine who were carrying out certain military tasks but denied Moscow had deployed regular troops there.
Yemen peace talks struggle amid intensifying clashes
DUBAI (Reuters) – U.N.-sponsored Yemen peace talks are struggling amid disputes over releasing prisoners, sources close to the talks said on Thursday, as local officials reported intensifying clashes and fresh air strikes despite a ceasefire.
Venezuelan first lady’s nephews plead not guilty to U.S. drug charges
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Two nephews of Venezuela’s powerful first lady pleaded not guilty on Thursday to U.S. charges that they conspired to import cocaine into the United States.
‘No fingerprints!’ chant migrants in Italy as EU cracks down
ROME (Reuters) – Some 200 mostly Eritrean migrants protested against asylum rules on the island of Lampedusa on Thursday as the European Union steps up pressure on frontline countries to enforce the regulations.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah says Saudi-led anti-IS coalition is suspicious
BEIRUT (Reuters) – The Lebanese Shi’ite Muslim group Hezbollah said on Thursday that a Saudi-led 34-nation anti-Islamic State coalition was suspicious, and questioned Saudi Arabia’s competence to lead it.
U.N. rights chief blames Burundi leaders for mounting violence
GENEVA (Reuters) – The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights accused Burundi’s authorities on Thursday of dragging the country toward full-blown civil war and called for travel bans and asset freezes targeting key officials to try to halt the bloodsh…
Obama says U.S., Cuba continue to have differences
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama on Thursday said the United States and Cuba continue to have differences, but that normalizing diplomatic relations between the two countries has promoted the free flow of information in Cuba.
