Serbian inmates say lawyers’ strike keeping them in jail
BELGRADE (Reuters) – Dozens of prison inmates in Serbia appealed to the country’s top human rights official on Thursday, saying they faced spending more time behind bars than necessary due to an almost two-month-old strike by lawyers.
Beyond Burkina Faso, Africa’s ‘Black Spring’ hopes may be premature
DAKAR (Reuters) – Inspired by protests in Burkina Faso that ousted one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders, opposition activists across much of the continent are hoping for a “Black Spring” to mirror the Arab Spring. The experience of Clement Mierassa …
U.S. launches fresh strikes on Khorasan group in Syria
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States said it conducted air strikes on Wednesday night against the so-called Khorasan group of al Qaeda-linked militants based in Syria, saying the group was plotting to attack Europe or the United States.
Miliband dismisses reports of bid to oust him
LONDON (Reuters) – Ed Miliband, the leader of Britain’s center-left opposition Labour party, on Thursday described media reports that members of his own party were conspiring to oust him as “nonsense”, as he sought to keep his bid to become prime minis…
MH17 crash investigators seek local help to reach wreckage in conflict zone
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Accident investigators looking into the July crash of a Malaysia Airlines plane in eastern Ukraine said on Thursday they would probably hire local contractors to collect wreckage still beyond their reach because of a continuing pr…
Bulgaria’s Borisov plasters together coalition government
SOFIA (Reuters) – The winner of Bulgaria’s parliamentary election signed an accord on Thursday to form a minority coalition government after a month of talks, a welcome breakthrough for a country reeling from a bank crisis and struggling to revive econ…
‘Don’t screw up’: U.S. envoy losing patience with Kosovo political impasse
PRISTINA (Reuters) – The U.S. envoy to Kosovo broke with diplomatic protocol on Thursday to signal Washington’s growing impatience with the country’s political leaders, who have been arguing over who gets to rule the young Balkan nation.
Eight dead, two missing in Ivory Coast building collapse
ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Eight people were killed and at least two more are believed to be trapped under rubble after a building in Ivory Coast’s commercial capital of Abidjan collapsed on workers who were demolishing it, a senior city official said on Thur…
Georgian PM promises stability despite coalition defections
TBILISI (Reuters) – Georgia’s prime minister declared on Thursday the defection of one of the six parties in the ruling coalition would not destabilize his government which, he said, would still command a majority in parliament
Israel allows transit of Gaza produce to West Bank
GAZA (Reuters) – Israel on Thursday allowed Palestinian farmers to ship produce from the blockaded Gaza Strip to the occupied West Bank, via Israeli territory, for the first time since 2007.
