EU nominee bows to lawmakers’ snub as Juncker team near complete
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The incoming head of the EU executive, Jean-Claude Juncker, was in urgent talks with Slovenia’s prime minister on Thursday to find a replacement for the Slovenian who quit his team after a humiliating rejection by the European Parl…
U.N. draft urges ICC referral for North Korea, but Pyongyang fights back
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – A draft resolution urges the U.N. General Assembly recommend the referral of North Korea to The Hague for crimes against humanity, prompting Pyongyang to take the unusual step of proposing its own text praising its human righ…
Accused Colombian drug kingpin pleads guilty in U.S. to money laundering scheme
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A Colombian accused of being a drug kingpin and pursued for years by U.S. authorities pleaded guilty in New York on Thursday to a charge that he conspired to illegally launder tens of millions of dollars in cocaine trafficking prof…
Greek PM faces confidence vote, seeks to quell snap election fears
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras seeks a confidence vote on Friday to rally support for his plan to abandon a widely-reviled EU/IMF aid package and end mounting speculation that his government is on its last legs.
Hong Kong calls off talks with student activists as city leader investigated
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong called off talks with protesting students on Thursday, dealing a heavy blow to attempts to defuse a political crisis that has seen tens of thousands take to the streets to demand free elections and calling for leader Leu…
Special Report: How Syria policy stalled under the ‘analyst in chief’
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Throughout 2012, as signs mounted that militants in Syria were growing stronger, the debate in the White House followed a pattern. In meeting after meeting, as officials from agencies outside the executive residence advocated arming pro-Western rebels or other forms of action, President Barack Obama’s closest White House aides bluntly delivered the president’s verdict: no.
Suicide bombings in Yemen kill 67 after premier quits
SANAA (Reuters) – Suicide bombers targeting Yemen’s powerful Shi’ite Houthi group and an army camp killed at least 67 people in two separate attacks on Thursday, hours after a political crisis forced the new prime minister to step down.
U.S. think-tank says it located possible blast at Iran military site
VIENNA (Reuters) – A U.S. security institute said it has located via satellite imagery a section of a sprawling Iranian military complex where it said an explosion or fire might have taken place earlier this week.
Back to school in rebel east Ukraine – to the sound of bombs and Soviet songs
MAKIYIVKA Ukraine (Reuters) – On the first day of school outside the east Ukrainian rebel stronghold of Donetsk, 11th-grade teacher Yelena Sepik tells her class to get out of their seats to clap and sing along to the Soviet military music playing over …
New star emerges in North Korea amid speculation over Kim
SEOUL (Reuters) – The man in the olive drab uniform and oversized Soviet-style military cap who strode through South Korea’s main airport last week has climbed from an obscure desk job in North Korea to the most powerful position outside the ruling Kim…
