Slovenia names new EU nominee as Juncker tries to complete team
LJUBLJANA/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The Slovenian government named on Friday an entrepreneur and newly appointed minister, Violeta Bulc, as its candidate for a post in the new European Commission after its original nominee was rejected by the European Parli…
Thai PM stands by investigation into murders of British tourists
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha defended a police investigation into the murder of two British tourists on Friday, amid criticism of shoddy forensic work and concern that two arrested Myanmar men may have admitted the crimes u…
South Africa signs nuclear agreement with France
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa has signed a nuclear power agreement with France, the government said on Friday, three weeks after it reached a similar deal with Russia as part of Pretoria’s first tentative steps towards building up to 9,600 MW o…
U.S. Air Force probed for scrapping costly planes bought for Afghans
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. government watchdog agency is asking the Air Force to explain why it destroyed 16 aircraft initially bought for the Afghan air force and turn them into $32,000 of scrap metal instead of finding other ways to salvage nearly…
Pause in India-Pakistan fighting brings respite for civilians
SRINAGAR (Reuters) – Fighting between India and Pakistan paused on Friday after days of heavy shelling and gun battles across their disputed Himalayan border, the worst skirmishes between the nuclear-armed rivals in more than a decade.
Bulgarian election winner seeks broad coalition to govern
SOFIA (Reuters) – The winner of Bulgaria’s election said on Friday he wanted to form a majority government, shifting tactics after last weekend’s vote produced a fractured result threatening his chances of becoming prime minister again.
Belarus detains Ukrainian soccer fans for anti-Putin chants
MINSK (Reuters) – Belarus police detained dozens of Ukrainian and Belarussian football fans who shouted patriotic Ukrainian slogans and chanted abuse against Russian President Vladimir Putin at a match, a rights organisation and local media said on Fri…
Ukraine poll foresees big election win for pro-Poroshenko bloc
KIEV (Reuters) – A bloc supporting President Petro Poroshenko looks set to register a strong win in a parliamentary election in Ukraine overshadowed by the separatist conflict in the east, according to a poll published on Friday.
Germany calls arrest of news assistant in China ‘worrying’
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany expressed concern on Friday about the arrest in Beijing last week of a Chinese woman who was working as a news assistant for German weekly Die Zeit and had helped the publication report on protests in Hong Kong.
100,000 Libyans flee fighting near Tripoli, UNHCR says
GENEVA (Reuters) – About 100,000 people have fled fighting near the Libyan capital Tripoli in the past three weeks, adding to a growing problem of internal displacement, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said on Friday.
