Cuba says U.S. must respect its communist system
HAVANA (Reuters) – President Raul Castro demanded on Saturday that the United States respect Cuba’s communist rule as the two countries work to restore diplomatic ties, and warned that Cuban-American exiles might try to sabotage the rapprochement.
Putin says Russia won’t be intimidated over Crimea
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia will not be intimidated over its actions in Ukraine and Crimea, President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday as his foreign ministry warned that it was preparing to retaliate against fresh Western sanctions.
North Korea denies hacking Sony, U.S. stands by its assertion
SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – North Korea said on Saturday U.S. accusations that it was involved in a cyberattack on Sony Pictures were “groundless slander,” and that it wanted a joint investigation into the incident with the United States.
Yazidis cheer Kurds on Iraqi mountain for breaking Islamic State siege
SINJAR MOUNTAIN, Iraq (Reuters) – Iraqi Kurdish fighters flashed victory signs as they swept across the northern side of Sinjar mountain on Saturday, two days after breaking through to free hundreds of Yazidis trapped there for months by Islamic State …
Saudi says security forces kill four militants in Shi’ite village
DOHA (Reuters) – Security forces killed four militants in eastern Saudi Arabia on Saturday in a raid on a hideout used by gunmen who killed a policeman in the area last week, the interior ministry said.
Greek polls show anti-bailout leftists still ahead but lead slips
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece’s radical leftist Syriza party would beat the ruling conservatives if an election were held now but its lead has shrunk from last month, two opinion polls showed on Saturday.
Egypt charges captain, officer of Kuwaiti ship with manslaughter
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s public prosecutor charged the captain and first officer of a Kuwaiti container ship with manslaughter in connection with a collision in the Red Sea this month that killed 25 Egyptian fishermen, state news agency MENA said on S…
French police shoot dead knife-wielding man in police station
PARIS (Reuters) – French police on Saturday shot dead a man shouting “Allahu Akbar” (“God is the greatest”) who stabbed and wounded three officers in a police station, authorities said.
Egypt’s Sisi meets Qatari envoy, signaling possible detente
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met a special envoy of the emir of Qatar on Saturday, the latest step in a Saudi-brokered effort to repair relations, regional news agencies reported.
Ukraine to spend five percent of 2015 budget on defense and security
KIEV (Reuters) – Ukraine plans to spend five percent of its budget or 86 billion hryvnia ($5.5 billion) on the army and on law enforcement in 2015 and to reintroduce compulsory military service, a top security official said on Saturday.
