Finland tightens criteria for Iraqi asylum seekers
HELSINKI (Reuters) – Finland expects to get fewer Iraqi asylum seekers after it re-assessed the country’s security and decided people will not qualify simply because they come from Iraq.
Kerry holds out possibility of meeting Netanyahu in Middle East
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday held out the possibility that he may meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Middle East rather than in Germany as previously planned.
EU mulls mission to disarm Libyan factions if unity government in place
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union is considering helping Libya strengthen its borders and disarm militias if a government of national unity is formed in the war-torn country, a EU document seen by Reuters says.
Wave of unrest leaves Palestinian president with no good choices
JERUSALEM/GAZA (Reuters) – A three-week-old uprising by knife-wielding, Internet-generation teenagers against Israelis has left 80-year-old Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas looking like yesterday’s man, unable either to oppose the violence or openly…
From cows to drug busts – France’s Hollande broadens message in hunt for votes
PARIS (Reuters) – From hunters to police officers, French President Francois Hollande is broadening his charm offensive among voters to include groups not normally associated with his ruling Socialists ahead of elections the party is expected to lose.
Italy’s Renzi mimics Berlusconi in bid to inherit his voters
ROME (Reuters) – A recent front-page cartoon in Italy’s mainstream newspaper Corriere della Sera depicted elderly former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi affectionately holding the hand of his little ice-cream licking “son” Matteo Renzi, the current pr…
Refugee consensus crumbling in Sweden, Europe’s most generous host
A self-proclaimed “humanitarian superpower” where welcoming those fleeing war and oppression is ingrained as part of the national identity, the Nordic country has proudly taken in more refugees per capita than any other in Europe.
Greek prosecutor drops inquiry into ex-finance minister’s ‘Plan B’
ATHENS (Reuters) – A Greek prosecutor has dropped an inquiry into plans hatched by former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis to hack into tax codes and create a parallel payment system when Greece teetered on the verge of dropping out of the euro in Jul…
Resettling migrants from Middle East camps could ease crisis: Greece
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece said on Tuesday that resettling migrants from camps in the Middle Eastern countries such as Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon, where they first arrive, could ease Europe’s refugee crisis.
Iran holds public funeral for commander killed in Syria
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran held a public funeral on Tuesday for a senior paramilitary fighter killed fighting in Syria, the fourth commander to die this month as Tehran intensifies its support for President Bashar al-Assad against insurgents.
