Sarkozy boosted by support for new French ‘Republicans’ party
PARIS (Reuters) – Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy cemented his grip on the center-right opposition party on Saturday after party members overwhelmingly approved renaming it “the Republicans”, in a blow to conservative rivals ahead of the 2017 p…
Gunmen shoot dead two soldiers in south of Thailand: police
YALA, Thailand (Reuters) – Unidentified gunmen shot dead two soldiers in an ambush in Thailand’s southern province of Pattani on Saturday, police said.
Police break up unsanctioned gay rally in central Moscow
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Police broke up an unsanctioned gay rights rally in central Moscow on Saturday, detaining around 20 people, including anti-gay campaigners who attacked the activists.
Islamic State’s Saudi branch calls for clearing Arabian Peninsula of Shi’ites
DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s branch of militant group Islamic State has said it wants to clear the Arabian Peninsula of Shi’ite Muslims and urged young men in the kingdom to join its cause, the U.S.-based SITE monitoring center has reported.
Spanish PM Rajoy opens door to strategy changes ahead of election
SITGES, Spain (Reuters) – Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Saturday said he was open to strategy changes for the first time since his party suffered big losses in local polls last weekend, only months ahead of a general election.
Greece open to compromise to seal deal this week: interior minister
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece’s government is confident of reaching a deal with its creditors this week and is open to pushing back parts of its anti-austerity program to make that happen, the country’s interior minister said Saturday.
Myanmar lands seized migrant boat on island
HAINGGYI ISLAND, Myanmar (Reuters) – A boat packed with more than 700 “boat people” seized off Myanmar’s coast was stopped on a small island on Saturday, as officials gave mixed signals about its final destination.
Gunmen kill 22 bus passengers in Pakistan attack
QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) – Gunmen disguised as members of the Pakistani security forces killed at least 22 passengers on Friday night after forcing them off buses traveling from the western city of Quetta to Karachi on the southern coast, officials s…
U.S. to bring Japan under its cyber defense umbrella
TOKYO (Reuters) – The United States will extend its cyber defense umbrella over Japan, helping its Asian ally cope with the growing threat of online attacks against military bases and infrastructure such as power grids, the two nations said in a joint …
FIFA’s Blatter comes out fighting despite scandal and divisions
ZURICH (Reuters) – FIFA President Sepp Blatter came out fighting on Saturday as he began his fifth term in charge of soccer’s governing body, implying that the United States timed the announcement of a major corruption probe to try to scupper his re-el…
