Israel says it will release frozen tax revenue to Palestinians
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel said on Friday it would release millions of dollars of tax income to the Palestinian Authority, three months after freezing the payments in protest at unilateral Palestinian moves towards statehood.
France to begin push for U.N. Middle East action in ‘coming weeks’
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – France plans to start discussions with partners in the “coming weeks” on a United Nations Security Council resolution to lay out parameters for ending the Middle East conflict, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on F…
Somali special forces enter hotel compound, battle militants
MOGADISHU (Reuters) – Somali special forces broke through the compound wall of a hotel seized by militants in the capital Mogadishu on Friday and exchanged fire with fighters inside the building, police said.
Romania PM picks EU funds minister as new finance minister
BUCHAREST (Reuters) – Romania’s leftist prime minister, Victor Ponta, said on Friday he had appointed the government’s EU funds minister, Eugen Teodorovici, as the new finance minister.
Six children wounded when old bomb explodes in Lebanon
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Six children were wounded in a blast in southern Lebanon on Friday in what witnesses said appeared to be an explosion caused by old cluster bomb munitions dropped by Israeli forces during the 2006 war.
Ukraine arrests Turkish cargo ship over Crimea port call
KIEV (Reuters) – Ukrainian authorities have arrested a Turkish-owned cargo ship and detained its captain over a visit it made to a port in Crimea after Russian annexed the peninsula from Ukraine last year.
After Lee, no sign of welcome home for Singapore’s dissidents
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Some dissidents and opponents of Lee Kuan Yew believe that, with the death of modern Singapore’s iron-handed founding father this week, the political restrictions he imposed in the name of security will begin to ease.
EU wants Serbia accession talks to begin in earnest this year
BELGRADE (Reuters) – The European Union said on Friday it was a priority to open the first chapters in accession negotiations with Serbia by the end of the year, after a delay caused by foot-dragging in relations between Belgrade and its former Kosovo …
U.S. allies conduct 16 air strikes in Syria, Iraq
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. and coalition forces conducted 10 air strikes against Islamic State fighters in Iraq during a 24-hour period, while U.S. forces led six air strikes in Syria, the U.S. military said on Friday.
Turkey passes tough new security law, raising fears of election crackdowns
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s parliament overwhelmingly passed a security law on Friday to broaden police powers and allow the use of firearms against demonstrators, deepening fears of crackdowns on dissent ahead of parliamentary elections.
