Guatemalan ex-president who took bribe released from U.S. prison
(Reuters) – Former Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo has been released from a U.S. prison after serving a nearly six-year sentence for taking $2.5 million in bribes from Taiwan and laundering funds through U.S. banks, a prison official confirmed We…
Austria passes ‘Law on Islam’ banning foreign money for Muslim groups
VIENNA (Reuters) – Austria’s parliament passed a law on Wednesday that seeks to regulate how Islam is administered, singling out its large Muslim minority for treatment not applied to any other religious group.
British blogger raises awkward questions on Russia’s role in Ukraine
MOSCOW (Reuters) – It was not an unusual evening for war blogger Eliot Higgins.
Australian militant fighting Islamic State killed in Syria: sources
BEIRUT (Reuters) – An Australian man who joined Syria Kurdish militants to fight against Islamic State jihadists has been killed, a group which tracks the conflict and a Kurdish source said on Wednesday.
France says to investigate drone sightings, but sees no security risk
PARIS (Reuters) – French authorities have launched investigations into sightings of drones this week close to sensitive sites in Paris such as the presidential palace and the U.S. embassy, the government said on Wednesday.
Opposition accuses Macedonian government of tapping reporters’ phones
SKOPJE (Reuters) – Macedonia’s opposition leader accused the government on Wednesday of illegally wire-tapping around 100 journalists to cement control over the media, the latest revelation in a scandal that Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski blamed on for…
Russia, Cyprus sign military deal on use of Mediterranean ports
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Cypriot counterpart Nicos Anastasiades signed an agreement on Wednesday to give Russian military ships access to Cypriot ports.
Nine more bodies found in Bangladesh ferry disaster; toll now 79
DHAKA (Reuters) – Nine bodies were retrieved from a river in central Bangladesh on Wednesday, said Harun-ur Rashid, a regional police official, bringing to 79 the number of people known to have died when a ferry capsized on Sunday.
Kremlin saw plan to annex Crimea before Yanukovich fell: newspaper
MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Kremlin was presented with a plan to annex the Crimea peninsula and eastern Ukraine before the overthrow of the country’s Moscow-leaning president last year, an independent newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Niger air force bombs fish traders thought to finance Boko Haram
NIAMEY (Reuters) – Niger’s air force has bombed a convoy of trucks carrying smoked fish to Nigeria, a trade banned by local officials because it is suspected of helping to finance the Islamist militant group Boko Haram, security sources said on Wednesd…
