Fidel Castro congratulates Venezuelan leader despite setback
HAVANA (Reuters) – Retired Cuban President Fidel Castro congratulated Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for a “brilliant and brave speech” he gave the night he suffered a severe setback in legislative elections.
Turkey issues arrest warrant for dozens linked to Erdogan foe
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey issued arrest warrants for U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen and 66 others on Friday, state-run Anadolu Agency said, pressing President Tayyip Erdogan’s campaign to root out the influence of the former ally he accuses of tryin…
Ukraine lawmaker manhandles PM Yatseniuk in rowdy parliament scenes
KIEV (Reuters) – Fighting broke out among members of Ukraine’s ruling coalition in parliament on Friday after a member of President Petro Poroshenko’s bloc physically picked up Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk and pulled him from the podium.
Thousands of cyclists honor Thai king amid crackdown on royal critics
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thousands of cyclists streamed through Bangkok on Friday to honor Thailand’s revered but ailing king in an outpouring of loyalty that comes against a backdrop of an unprecedented crackdown on those perceived as critical of the monar…
Iraq’s top Shi’ite cleric says government should not tolerate infringement of sovereignty
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq’s top Shi’ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, called on the government on Friday to show “no tolerance” of any infringement of the country’s sovereignty, after Turkey deployed heavily armed troops to northern Iraq.
Spain’s ruling PP tops pre-election survey, newcomer Ciudadanos second
MADRID (Reuters) – A new survey has put Spain’s market-friendly political newcomer Ciudadanos (‘Citizens’) in second place behind the ruling People’s Party (PP) nine days before a general election, pushing the opposition Socialists into fourth.
U.S., allies conduct 25 strikes against Islamic State: U.S. military
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States and its allies staged 25 air strikes against the Islamic State militant group in Iraq and Syria on Thursday, the coalition leading the operations said in a statement.
Greece says new EU border force welcome as pressure builds over migrants
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras welcomed on Friday proposals to create a European Union coast guard agency to patrol its vast sea borders as pressure built at home for a solution to growing numbers of migrants stranded in the cou…
Lithuania to proceed with Germany’s Boxer in armored vehicle purchase
VILNIUS (Reuters) – The Lithuanian government said on Friday it would proceed with negotiations to buy 88 Boxer armored fighting vehicles in a deal worth up to 400 million euros ($439 million).
Putin orders military to be ‘extremely tough’ to protect Russian forces in Syria
MOSCOW (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin on Friday ordered Russia’s armed forces to act in an “extremely tough way” in Syria to protect Russian forces striking Islamic State targets there.
