Russia opens way to missile deliveries to Iran, starts oil-for-goods swap
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia paved the way on Monday for missile system deliveries to Iran and started an oil-for-goods swap, signaling that Moscow may have a head-start in the race to benefit from an eventual lifting of sanctions on Tehran.
Colombia investigating 22 generals over extrajudicial killing scandal
BOGOTA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Colombia’s attorney-general has said he will step up investigations of 22 army generals for their alleged role in the killing of dozens of civilians in a notorious episode of the country’s five-decade conflict.
U.N. Syria envoy to consult on new political talks: diplomats
BEIRUT/GENEVA (Reuters) – The United Nations’ Syria envoy, Staffan de Mistura, is proposing to hold consultations in Geneva on new political talks, diplomatic sources said on Monday, more than a year after U.N.-led peace talks collapsed.
China frees five women activists on bail after outcry
BEIJING (Reuters) – China has unexpectedly released five women activists on bail, two lawyers said on Monday, after a vocal campaign against their detention by the West and Chinese rights campaigners.
Deal or not, many U.S. states will keep sanctions grip on Iran
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – As the United States and Iran come closer to a historic nuclear deal, many U.S. states are likely to stick with their own sanctions on Iran that could complicate any warming of relations between the long-time foes.
Pope’s genocide comments spark indifference, frustration among Turks
ANKARA/IZMIR (Reuters) – When Pope Francis became the first pontiff to publicly call the 1915 Armenian massacre a genocide this weekend, the reaction from Ankara was swift and irate: it summoned the Vatican ambassador for a dressing down and recalled i…
Three kidnapped from boat off Nigerian coast, Bourbon says
PARIS (Reuters) – French oil services company Bourbon said on Monday that three Nigerian crew members had been kidnapped after one of its speedboats was boarded off the Nigerian coast in the night of April 8.
Puerto Rico’s mainland migration led by young, less educated: Fed
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Puerto Rico’s populations loss, primarily to the U.S. mainland, is being led by younger and less educated sections of the population and boosting the proportion of the college educated among those who remain, according to a blog po…
Russian man gets two and a half years in Czech jail for drunken brawl on plane: agency
PRAGUE (Reuters) – A Czech court sentenced a former Russian soccer player to two and a half years in jail on Monday for starting a drunken brawl on board a 2006 flight that was forced to land in Prague, the Czech news agency CTK said.
Hungarian far-right leader rejects anti-Semitism charge
BUDAPEST (Reuters) – Hungary’s Jobbik party on Monday denied it was racist or anti-Semitic, after softening its far-right rhetoric and seizing a parliamentary seat from the ruling party in a weekend by-election amid a surge in support.
