Putin says Russia weathering sanctions, lectures West
ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin boasted on Friday that Russia had found the “inner strength” to prevent sanctions causing a deep economic crisis, and told the West to stop using “the language of ultimatums.”
Yemen talks end without ceasefire, air strikes hit Republican Guards
GENEVA/SANAA (Reuters) – U.N.-sponsored talks in Geneva on a ceasefire between Yemen’s warring parties ended on Friday without a deal as Saudi-led warplanes staged further strikes on the dominant Houthi armed faction and allies including elite Republic…
Terror attacks, deaths up sharply in 2014: State Department
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Terrorist attacks worldwide surged by more than a third and fatalities soared by 81 percent in 2014, a year that also saw Islamic State eclipse al Qaeda as the leading jihadist militant group, the U.S. State Department said on Fr…
Venezuela legislators slam Brazil counterparts’ prison visit
CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s ruling Socialist Party legislators called a trip by Brazilian senators to visit jailed opponents of President Nicolas Maduro “abusive” and “meddling” on Friday.
Human rights group says Cuba has 60 political prisoners
HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuba’s leading human rights commission on Friday accused the government of having 60 political prisoners, a number the group acknowledges includes armed insurrectionists, hijackers and spies as well as peaceful political activists.
Druze in Israeli-held Golan fear for Syrian brethren
MAJDAL SHAMS, Golan Heights (Reuters) – Gathered at a hilltop in the Israeli-held Golan Heights, a group of Druze sheikhs look through binoculars at the Syrian village of Hader, surrounded by rebels. They fear their brethren are in imminent danger.
Chad to round up beggars, foreigners after Boko Haram attack
N’DJAMENA (Reuters) – Chad said on Friday it planned to round up beggars and some foreigners as part of a security clamp-down, days after two suicide attacks on its capital blamed on Boko Haram Islamist militants from neighboring Nigeria.
Powerful Brazilian CEO arrested in Petrobras graft probe
SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian police on Friday arrested Marcelo Odebrecht, the head of Latin America’s largest engineering and construction company Odebrecht SA, and accused his family-run conglomerate of spearheading a $2.1 billion bribery scheme at…
Seventy killed, hundreds injured in Burundi unrest: rights group
BUJUMBURA (Reuters) – At least 70 people have died in Burundi since clashes erupted between security forces and activists protesting against President Pierre Nkurunziza’s bid for a third term, a leading Burundian human rights group said.
U.S., allies conduct 24 air strikes against Islamic State: military
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. and coalition forces conducted 13 air strikes targeting Islamic State in Iraq on Thursday and 11 strikes against the militant group in Syria, the U.S. military said on Friday.
