Hamas leader urges Muslims to defend Jerusalem shrine from ‘Israeli seizure’
DOHA (Reuters) – The leader of the Palestinian group Hamas on Thursday called on Muslims to defend the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, saying Israel was trying to seize the site, revered in Islam and Judaism and focus of a Palestinian uprising in…
UKIP cries foul as Latvian defection weakens hand in EU parliament
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The UK Independence Party accused the European Parliament of blackmail and bias on Thursday after it wound up a voting bloc forged by British and Italian Eurosceptics, depriving them of funding and influence.
Serbia salutes Putin but says future is with Europe
BELGRADE (Reuters) – Serbia feted Russia’s Vladimir Putin with troops, tanks and fighter-jets on Thursday to mark seven decades since the Red Army liberated Belgrade, balancing its ambitions of European integration with enduring reverence for a big-pow…
U.S. democracy watchdog quits Egypt as political noose tightens
CAIRO (Reuters) – U.S. democracy watchdog The Carter Center has closed its Egypt office and says it will no longer monitor the country’s parliamentary elections due to an increasingly restrictive political environment.
Pakistani Christian loses appeal against death sentence for blasphemy
LAHORE Pakistan (Reuters) – A Pakistani court upheld the death penalty on Thursday against a Christian woman accused of blasphemy, her lawyer said, in a case that drew global headlines after two prominent politicians who tried to help her were assassin…
Oil slide puts Venezuela’s Maduro under pressure for reforms
CARACAS (Reuters) – The slump in global oil prices has heightened pressure on President Nicolas Maduro to enact politically risky reforms to bolster Venezuela’s weak public finances and its ability to pay down debt.
Explaining acquittal, court says no proof Berlusconi knew Ruby’s age
MILAN (Reuters) – Silvio Berlusconi paid a teenage nightclub dancer for sex but there is no proof he knew her age at the time, an Italian appeals court said on Thursday, explaining its decision to overturn the former prime minister’s “bunga bunga” conv…
UK should have ‘one last go’ at reshaping EU ties: PM Cameron
ROCHESTER England (Reuters) – British Prime Minister David Cameron said his plan to try to reshape ties with the European Union would be the last such renegotiation, saying on Thursday he wanted a 1970s-style Common Market arrangement with the bloc.
Russia’s Putin warns of repeat of 2008 gas crisis
BELGRADE (Reuters) – Russia will reduce gas supplies to Europe if Ukraine steals from the transit pipeline to cover its own needs, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday, adding that he was “hopeful” it would not come to that.
Former Soviet leader Gorbachev warns against new Cold War
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev has warned Western leaders and Russian President Vladimir Putin against dragging the world into a new version of the Cold War he helped to end a quarter of a century ago.
