As pension reform crunch nears, Greek coalition looks fragile
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ governing majority is looking fragile as crunch time approaches for a pension reform that will test his resolve to impose painful measures to satisfy Athens’ international creditors.
German Social Democrats struggle to profit from Merkel’s woes
BERLIN (Reuters) – Social Democrat (SPD) leader Sigmar Gabriel called his party “the stability factor” in Germany’s ruling coalition on Friday, trying to capitalize from infighting among Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives over Europe’s migrant cr…
Syrian antiquities chief says Turkey refuses to return looted art
VIENNA (Reuters) – Syria’s antiquities chief has accused Turkey of refusing to return looted objects from ancient heritage sites in Syria or to provide information about them, allegations denied by the Turkish government.
India, Japan close in on military pacts as Abe visits
TOKYO/NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India and Japan are likely to finalize an agreement on protection of military information during Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s trip beginning on Friday that will the lay the ground for Japanese arms sales to India, including s…
U.N. aid chief heads to Syria to try to boost deliveries
GENEVA (Reuters) – U.N. humanitarian chief Stephen O’Brien will go to Syria this weekend to meet senior government officials to discuss how to boost aid to 13.5 million people in need of assistance following intensified fighting and military operations…
Turkey foreign minister calls on Russia for calm, says patience not unlimited
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey is calling on Russia for calm, but its patience is not unlimited, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Friday.
Taiwan’s likely next ruling party says open to China engagement
KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan (Reuters) – Taiwan’s independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), likely to sweep to power in elections next month, is open to engaging with giant neighbor China, but more trust needs to be built on both sides, a senior pa…
New Zealand moves a step closer to new flag, possibly
WELLINGTON (Reuters) – New Zealanders could be a step closer to getting a new flag after the first phase of a two-part referendum wrapped up on Friday but many people are not in the mood for change.
Greece, Cyprus, Egypt to speed up talks over sea boundaries
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece, Egypt and Cyprus agreed on Wednesday to speed up talks to demarcate sea boundaries in the Eastern Mediterranean as part of efforts to turn the region into an offshore natural gas hub.
Russia says up to Syrians to discuss Assad’s fate
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday it was up to the Syrian people to discuss the fate of President Bashar al-Assad, commenting on a Syrian opposition statement issued after two days of talks in Riyadh.
