Hong Kong debates election reform plan with veto likely
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s pro-democracy lawmakers appeared to be standing firm on Wednesday in their pledge to veto Beijing-backed electoral reforms, as the Asian financial center’s legislature debated the package that will define its democrati…
Russian FinMin finds extra cash for scandal-plagued Vostochny cosmodrome
MOSCOW (Reuters) – The construction of Russia’s Vostochny cosmodrome, taken under President Vladimir Putin’s personal control after strikes and a corruption scandal, is being allocated an additional 50 percent funding this year to speed its completion….
Former Burkina leader’s wife urges France to help investigate his death
PARIS (Reuters) – The wife of former Burkina Faso president Thomas Sankara on Wednesday called for France to declassify documents related to his death and urged the government to set up a parliamentary commission to investigate.
Kosovo ex-PM arrested in Slovenia on Serbian warrant
LJUBLJANA (Reuters) – Former Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, a guerrilla commander during the 1998-99 Kosovo war, has been detained by the Slovenian police on a 2006 Serbian arrest warrant, the Slovenian police confirmed on Wednesday.
Greenland and Faroes may help Danish PM in knife-edge vote
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Denmark’s former colonies of Greenland and the Faroe Islands are likely to swing Thursday’s knife-edge election toward Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt if polls are right in predicting a close result on the mainland.
Al Qaeda kills two Saudis accused of spying for America: residents
ADEN (Reuters) – Al Qaeda militants in Yemen killed two alleged Saudi spies on Wednesday, residents said, accusing them of planting tracking devices which enabled the assassination of the group’s leader in a suspected U.S. drone strike last week.
Oxfam seeks greater reach in Syria after Damascus trip
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Global aid agency Oxfam wants to double to three million the number of people it can reach inside Syria with water and hygiene projects, the head of Oxfam’s British office said after meetings with officials in Damascus.
Egypt pardons 165 including some jailed for illegal protests
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday pardoned 165 people, many of them young men or juveniles, who had been jailed for illegal protests or other misdemeanors, his office said in a statement.
Egypt reopens Tahrir Square metro station after two-year closure
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt reopened a major downtown Cairo metro station on Wednesday after a two-year closure, signaling government confidence in the security situation despite several low-level attacks in the capital.
Long-term Gaza truce mooted as Hamas, Israel grapple with jihadi challenge
GAZA (Reuters) – It’s not quite a case of the enemy of my enemy is my friend, but shared concern over Islamic State-inspired militant groups in Gaza could help redraw complex relationships between Hamas and a hostile Egypt and Israel.
