Chad arrests five and bans burqa after suicide bombings
N’DJAMENA (Reuters) – Chad said on Wednesday it had arrested at least five suspects and had banned religious burqas after suicide bombings blamed on the Islamist Boko Haram killed 34 people.
UK invites Egypt’s Sisi, state media say, day after Mursi ruling
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has been invited to visit Britain by the British prime minister, Egypt’s state news agency said on Wednesday, a day after a Cairo court sentenced a former president to death, drawing Western cri…
EU to keep withholding aid from Gambia after expulsion – diplomats
DAKAR (Reuters) – The expulsion of an EU diplomat from Gambia this month has derailed efforts to unblock aid to one of the world’s poorest countries, the source of thousands of illegal migrants headed to Europe, diplomats say.
Merkel’s office suggests special investigator see U.S. spy list
BERLIN (Reuters) – Chancellor Angela Merkel’s office has proposed that a special investigator be appointed to inspect a list of targets that German intelligence tracked on behalf of the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA).
Russia, Germany call for swift end to fighting in east Ukraine: Moscow
MOSCOW/KIEV (Reuters) – The foreign ministers of Russia and Germany spoke on Wednesday and agreed on the importance of ending fighting in eastern Ukraine immediately, Russia’s foreign ministry said.
Political infighting in Catalonia clouds independence drive
MADRID (Reuters) – The push by Catalonia’s leaders to break away from Spain took a knock on Wednesday as infighting over the secession issue escalated and one of the parties running the region said its ministers were stepping down.
U.S.-Spain sign deal giving Marines permanent use of air base
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States and Spain signed a defense agreement on Wednesday giving U.S. Marines permanent use of Moron air base, near Seville, from which they can be quickly deployed to Africa.
As Iran deal takes shape, Israel plays up regional common ground
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – With a deal on Iran’s nuclear program drawing near, Israel is beginning to look at what comes afterwards and how best to position itself for the longer term.
EU without Britain is ‘impossible’, says Italy’s Renzi after talks with Cameron
MILAN/LONDON (Reuters) – A European Union without Britain would be “impossible”, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on Wednesday, after talks with Prime Minister David Cameron about his plans to reshape Britain’s EU ties before an in-out membersh…
Islamic State kills five policemen near Iraq’s Baiji refinery
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Islamic State has killed five policemen in a town near Iraq’s biggest refinery, in an attack that may help ease pressure on some of its fighters trapped in the strategically important facility, a security official said on Wednesday….
