Dozens held across Europe in Islamist suspect sweeps
PARIS/VERVIERS, Belgium (Reuters) – Belgian, French and German police interrogated dozens of Islamist suspects on Friday as much of Europe remained on heightened security alert after last week’s killings in Paris and raids in Belgium in which two gunme…
Spain prosecutor calls for 42-year jail term for former ruling party treasurer
MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s anti-corruption prosecutor has called for a 42-and-a-half years prison sentence for the ruling party’s former treasurer, Luis Barcenas, for crimes ranging from fraud to money laundering, a court source said on Friday.
Serbian rights groups urge probe into mine tender in media freedom row
BELGRADE (Reuters) – Serbian civic groups called for an inquiry into a media report of irregularities in a government tender to pump flood water from a major mine, after the prime minister called the journalists “liars” paid by the European Union to di…
Kremlin critic Navalny questioned by investigators, office raided
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was questioned on Friday by Russian investigators and his offices were raided by police in what colleagues called an attack on his anti-corruption campaigning.
Saudi’s top clerical body condemns Prophet Mohammad cartoons
DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s top clerical council, the only body in the kingdom authorized to issue Islamic legal opinions or fatwas, on Friday denounced the publication of “disrespectful drawings” of the Prophet Mohammad.
Venezuela’s ‘protest city’ on edge as economic crisis worsens
SAN CRISTOBAL (Reuters) – Masked youths are once again blocking streets and burning tires in the Venezuelan city of San Cristobal, the epicenter of last year’s massive anti-government protests.
Chinese peacekeepers start deployment in South Sudan
JUBA (Reuters) – An advanced party of Chinese peacekeepers is in South Sudan and the rest of the 700-strong contingent is due to arrive by early April, a U.N. official said on Friday, part of a surge in a U.N. mission to protect civilians in a nation m…
Turkey’s Erdogan warns of clash of civilizations following attacks
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Friday warned of a “clash of civilizations” following the wake of the Islamist militant attacks in Paris and he also appeared to criticize France for allowing the wife of one of the gunmen to trave…
Russia could soon run multiple Ukraine-sized operations: U.S. general
WIESBADEN, Germany (Reuters) – Russia is working to develop within a few years the capability to threaten several neighbors at once on the scale of its present operation in Ukraine, a senior American general said.
Lebanon absorbs bomb shock as talks ease tensions
BEIRUT (Reuters) – A double suicide bombing at a cafe in the Lebanese city of Tripoli was meant to ignite a new round of civil strife in a country whose stability has been repeatedly strained by the war in neighboring Syria.
