Egypt constituency law sets stage for long-awaited elections
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt on Thursday cleared a final hurdle to long-awaited parliamentary elections seen as decisive in cementing the rule of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who ousted President Mohamed Mursi, and excluding the banned Muslim Brotherhood from poli…
Yemeni PM Bahah’s cabinet wins parliamentary approval: sources
SANAA (Reuters) – Yemeni Prime Minister Khaled Bahah’s cabinet won a parliamentary vote of confidence on Thursday, freeing it to tackle major challenges facing the country, including dealing with Shi’ite Muslim Houthi militia who control the capital Sa…
No risk of contagion from Greek vote: Italy economy minister
ROME (Reuters) – Italian Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said on Thursday that possible fallout from Greece’s political showdown would not trigger a euro zone debt crisis like the one that pushed Italy close to default three years ago.
EU bans investment in Crimea, targets oil sector, cruises
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union banned investment in Crimea on Thursday, halting European help for Russian Black Sea oil and gas exploration and outlawing European cruise ships from calling at Crimean ports.
EU appoints Germany’s Stoiber as red tape adviser
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker appointed Germany’s Edmund Stoiber as special adviser on better regulation on Thursday, to help the EU executive fight over-regulation and red tape.
U.N. defers Iraq’s $4.6 billion Gulf War reparations to Kuwait
GENEVA (Reuters) – The United Nations Gulf War compensation fund agreed on Thursday to defer Iraq’s requirement to deposit five percent of its oil revenues for a year due to its budgetary difficulties, a senior U.N. official said.
Xi’s visit to Macau deals cold deck to VIP gamblers
HONG KONG (Reuters) – As Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Macau this weekend for his first official visit in five years, the message from Beijing is clear: the world’s biggest gambling center cannot remain a one-industry town.
Russian sailors leave French port, Mistral deal still uncertain
SAINT-NAZAIRE, France (Reuters) – A ship carrying the Russian sailors who have been training for months on a French-built Mistral helicopter carrier left the French port of Saint-Nazaire on Thursday, with it still unclear whether Paris will finally del…
Putin says deal on Iran’s nuclear program ‘very close’
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday the six world powers and Iran were “very close” to reaching an agreement on Tehran’s nuclear program.
Kenya jails four men for killing Scottish geologist
NAIROBI (Reuters) – A Kenyan court on Thursday sentenced four men to 40 years in jail each after finding them guilty of killing a prominent Scottish gemstone expert in August 2009.
