Ukraine’s Poroshenko sets out ceasefire plan after call with Putin
KIEV (Reuters) – After a late-night telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Wednesday set out proposals for a peace plan for eastern Ukraine involving a unilateral ceasefire by government forces.
Afghanistan’s Abdullah calls on election officials to halt count
KABUL (Reuters) – Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah on Wednesday demanded election organisers stop counting ballots because of widespread fraud, potentially derailing what is seen as a make-or-break vote before most foreign troops leave.
Exclusive: Iran digs in heels on nuclear centrifuges at Vienna talks – envoys
VIENNA (Reuters) – Iran is refusing to significantly cut the number of centrifuges it intends to keep to produce nuclear fuel, making it hard to imagine a compromise at this week’s talks with six powers, Western and Iranian officials said on Wednesday….
Cameron looking increasingly isolated in EU battle
BRUSSELS/ROME (Reuters) – British Prime Minister David Cameron looked increasingly isolated on Wednesday in his drive to prevent Jean-Claude Juncker becoming head of the European Commission, with potential allies softening their opposition.
Finnish reasons for joining NATO ‘stronger than ever’: defense minister
HELSINKI (Reuters) – Finland should seriously consider joining NATO because of Russia’s aggressive actions in Ukraine and could hold a referendum on the issue some time after its 2015 election, its defense minister told Reuters.
Jihadists back from Syria are ‘deadly danger’ to Europe, Germany warns
BERLIN (Reuters) – Battle-hardened jihadists returning from Syria’s civil war are no longer an ‘abstract threat’ but a ‘deadly danger’ to Europe, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said on Wednesday.
U.S. captures suspected ringleader of 2012 attack in Benghazi
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States said on Tuesday it had captured a suspected ringleader of the 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans including the U.S. ambassador and ignited a political fire…
Bosnian tax, customs officials detained over $1 billion scam
SARAJEVO (Reuters) – Dozens of customs and tax officials have been detained in Bosnia, accused of defrauding the state of more than $1 billion in customs revenue on imported textiles and cars, authorities said on Wednesday.
Israel re-arrests former Palestinian prisoners in hunt for teens
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel re-arrested 51 Palestinians freed in a 2011 prisoner swap deal, the army said on Wednesday, in the sixth day of a hunt for three missing teenagers believed abducted in the occupied West Bank.
U.S., Iran experts dispute nuclear bomb ‘breakout’ timeline
VIENNA (Reuters) – A U.S. security institute estimates that Iran could amass material for a nuclear bomb in three months or less while Iranian experts cite a time frame six times longer – a dispute going to the heart of talks between Tehran and global …
