Aid agencies rule out ‘preferred option’ of moving storm-hit Syrian refugees
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Aid agencies dismissed on Wednesday the idea of relocating hundreds of thousands of storm-hit Syrian refugees across the Middle East, citing the large number of refugees, a shortage of funding and a lack of authori…
UK’s Prince Andrew steps up denial of underage sex
LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – (Corrects story published on Jan 4 to add source to first paragraph. Also corrects paragraph four to show that Buckingham Palace has not identified Jane Doe #3 as Virginia Roberts.)
EU chair Latvia sees ‘opening’ with Russia on Ukraine
RIGA (Reuters) – Latvia, which has taken over as chair of European Union government meetings, believes Russia may be more willing to negotiate a deal to ease tensions over Ukraine, its foreign minister said on Wednesday.
Spanish newspapers call in police over suspect packages
MADRID (Reuters) – Several Spanish media companies called in police as a precautionary measure on Wednesday after receiving suspicious packages, including one at El Pais publisher Prisa which is no longer considered to pose a threat.
German government agrees to keep Patriot missiles in Turkey until 2016
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s cabinet on Wednesday agreed to keep two German Patriot missile batteries in southern Turkey for another year, where they are deployed as part of a NATO mission to defend Turkey’s border with Syria.
Violence against Sri Lanka opposition must stop as polls loom: rights body
NEW DELHI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Sri Lanka must take all necessary steps to ensure voters have safe and secure access as the country heads for one of the closest and most significant presidential elections in decades, Human Rights Watch said on…
Pro-Russian group claims cyber attack on German government websites
BERLIN (Reuters) – German government websites, including Chancellor Angela Merkel’s page, were hacked on Wednesday in an attack claimed by a group demanding Berlin end support for the Ukrainian government, shortly before their leaders were to meet.
Berlusconi asks for community service to end early
MILAN (Reuters) – Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has asked for a one-year community service sentence he is serving for tax fraud to be reduced by 45 days, legal sources said on Wednesday.
Boko Haram threatens Cameroon with violence in video
ABUJA (Reuters) – A man purporting to be the leader of Nigerian militant sect Boko Haram has threatened to step up violence in neighboring Cameroon unless it scraps its constitution and embraces Islam.
Exclusive: Japan seeks to sell sub-hunting jet to UK as Abe pushes arms exports
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan is asking Britain to buy its P-1 submarine-hunting jet in a deal that could top $1 billion, a major step in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s push to arms exports after decades of self-imposed restrictions, people with knowledge of th…
