No chance for Putin to be invited to G7 summit, Merkel says
BERLIN (Reuters) – There is no chance that Russian President Vladimir Putin will be invited to the next meeting of G7 leaders, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who will host the summit, was quoted as saying on Thursday.
Canadian minister hopes for Jazeera reporter’s release after Cairo talks
CAIRO (Reuters) – Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird said after “constructive” talks in Cairo on Thursday he hoped that a Canadian journalist working for Al Jazeera television could be released before long from an Egyptian prison.
Israeli market reformer launches wild-card election bid
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – An ex-Israeli cabinet minister known for spurring market reform launched a new party on Thursday to run in the March 17 election, a wild-card bid seen as potentially helping Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu return to power.
Argentina judge slams prosecutor accusing Fernandez of Iran plot
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – The judge handling the case of Argentina’s worst-ever bombing attack raised questions on Thursday about accusations against President Cristina Fernandez brought by a prosecutor who accused the two-term leader of trying to help …
Arab states endorse new Palestinian move at U.N. Security Council
CAIRO (Reuters) – Arab foreign ministers on Thursday endorsed a Palestinian plan to resubmit a draft resolution to the U.N. Security Council calling for Israel to withdraw from occupied territories by late 2017.
Police stand by for now as Kremlin critic defies house arrest
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Ten days after cutting off his monitoring tag and declaring he would not stay under house arrest, Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny says Russian police are standing by while he walks out of his door.
Italian aid workers held hostage in Syria freed
ROME (Reuters) – Two Italian aid workers taken hostage in Syria five months ago have been released and will soon return home, Italy’s government said on Thursday.
Belgian TV reports three dead in anti-terrorism raid
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Belgian public television channel RTBF said on its website that it had reports of three people being killed during a police counter-terrorism raid in Verviers in the east of the country.
UN rights chief urges Saudi king to halt flogging of blogger
GENEVA (Reuters) – The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights called on Saudi Arabia on Thursday to stop the serial flogging of an atheist and civil rights blogger sentenced to receive 1,000 lashes over an extended period.
Russia’s Putin, Venezuela’s Maduro discuss oil markets: Interfax
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro held a “detailed discussion” on the global oil market situation, Interfax news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying after the leaders’ meetin…
