U.S. democracy watchdog quits Egypt as political noose tightens
CAIRO (Reuters) – U.S. democracy watchdog The Carter Center has closed its Egypt office and says it will no longer monitor the country’s parliamentary elections due to an increasingly restrictive political environment.
Pakistani Christian loses appeal against death sentence for blasphemy
LAHORE Pakistan (Reuters) – A Pakistani court upheld the death penalty on Thursday against a Christian woman accused of blasphemy, her lawyer said, in a case that drew global headlines after two prominent politicians who tried to help her were assassin…
Oil slide puts Venezuela’s Maduro under pressure for reforms
CARACAS (Reuters) – The slump in global oil prices has heightened pressure on President Nicolas Maduro to enact politically risky reforms to bolster Venezuela’s weak public finances and its ability to pay down debt.
Explaining acquittal, court says no proof Berlusconi knew Ruby’s age
MILAN (Reuters) – Silvio Berlusconi paid a teenage nightclub dancer for sex but there is no proof he knew her age at the time, an Italian appeals court said on Thursday, explaining its decision to overturn the former prime minister’s “bunga bunga” conv…
UK should have ‘one last go’ at reshaping EU ties: PM Cameron
ROCHESTER England (Reuters) – British Prime Minister David Cameron said his plan to try to reshape ties with the European Union would be the last such renegotiation, saying on Thursday he wanted a 1970s-style Common Market arrangement with the bloc.
Russia’s Putin warns of repeat of 2008 gas crisis
BELGRADE (Reuters) – Russia will reduce gas supplies to Europe if Ukraine steals from the transit pipeline to cover its own needs, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday, adding that he was “hopeful” it would not come to that.
Former Soviet leader Gorbachev warns against new Cold War
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev has warned Western leaders and Russian President Vladimir Putin against dragging the world into a new version of the Cold War he helped to end a quarter of a century ago.
Pistorius faces prison hospital wing if sentenced to jail
PRETORIA (Reuters) – Oscar Pistorius will be committed to the hospital wing of one of South Africa’s toughest prisons if the double-amputee Olympic track star is sentenced to jail time for killing his girlfriend, the head of the prison service said on …
New U.N. rights boss says in talks with China on Tibet visit
GENEVA (Reuters) – The new United Nations human rights chief said on Thursday at his first media briefing in the job that he wanted to visit Tibet and was talking to Chinese authorities about a trip there.
Greece says is confident, market turmoil not based on fundamentals
ATHENS (Reuters) – Market turmoil in recent days does not reflect the fundamentals of Greece’s economy or its prospects, Finance Minister Gikas Hardouvelis told parliament on Thursday, saying he was confident the country would follow through on its ple…
