U.S. urges Vietnam to release some prisoners in coming weeks
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States wants Vietnam to release some “prisoners of conscience” in the coming weeks as the U.S. Congress weighs its approach to a Pacific Rim trade treaty, a senior U.S. rights official said on Friday.
Rescuers retrieve six bodies from flooded Colombian mine
BOGOTA (Reuters) – Rescue workers began recovering bodies from an underground gold mine in Colombia where flood waters trapped 15 workers, Colombia’s disaster response service said on Friday.
Tanker attacked by Iranian craft collided with Iran oil platform in March: owner
LONDON (Reuters) – A Singapore-flagged oil products tanker fired at by Iranian craft on Thursday had previously collided with an Iranian oil drilling platform in March and efforts have since been made to resolve the issue, the owner said on Friday.
France ready for swift EU reform proposals from Cameron
PARIS (Reuters) – France sees plenty of scope for Britain to meet its demands for EU reform without changing its treaties, and is ready to discuss the question sooner rather than later, the French European affairs minister told Reuters.
Turkey election board rejects complaints against Erdogan, two members dissent
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s election board on Friday rejected accusations that President Tayyip Erdogan violated the constitution by publicly backing the ruling AK party ahead of June polls, though two members opposed the ruling in a rare sign of disse…
Unknown hackers attack German parliament’s data network
BERLIN (Reuters) – Unknown hackers have attacked the German Bundestag lower house of parliament’s computer system, a parliamentary spokeswoman said on Friday.
Austrian chancellor says Britain not acting responsibly on Europe
BERLIN (Reuters) – Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann has accused Britain, whose newly-elected government plans to hold an in-or-out referendum on its EU membership, of not acting responsibly, a German magazine said on Friday.
Iran’s Zarif says nuclear deal “very likely”: Spiegel
BERLIN (Reuters) – Iran is optimistic that it can reach a final nuclear deal with world powers, its foreign minister said in an excerpt of an interview with Germany’s Spiegel magazine published on Friday.
France’s Sarkozy attracts mockery with Twitter chat
PARIS (Reuters) – Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy drew a wave of mocking comments about his judicial woes when he launched a rare question-and-answer session on Twitter on Friday.
Russia says to boost military presence in Crimea: RIA
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia will boost its military presence in Crimea given NATO’s plans to expand in eastern Europe, Alexander Grushko, Russia’s envoy to the military alliance, was quoted as saying on Friday by RIA news agency.
