Swedish government strikes deal with Left to limit welfare profits
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Sweden’s government will limit the profits of private companies providing social services, it said on Monday, after striking a deal with a left-wing party to secure support for its forthcoming budget.
German train drivers announce rail strike soon
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s train drivers’ union GDL said on Monday it would hold a nationwide strike some time in the coming days, the latest step in its drawn out pay dispute with state-owned rail operator Deutsche Bahn [DBN.UL].
UK retailer’s ‘France in decline’ comment was pure cliché, PM says
LONDON (Reuters) – French Prime Minister Manuel Valls rebuked the head of a major British retailer on Monday for saying his country was “in decline”, dismissing the comments as a cliched vision of France that the UK media loved to spread.
Truce bypasses Donetsk airport, symbol of conflict in eastern Ukraine
DONETSK Ukraine (Reuters) – While fighting in much of eastern Ukraine has been calmed by a month-old truce, it rages unabated at the airport near Donetsk, turning a shiny symbol of the country’s Western integration into a shattered mirror of its future…
Briton denies guilt in South African ‘honeymoon murder’ trial
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – British businessman Shrien Dewani denied arranging the murder of his bride during their honeymoon in South Africa at the start of his trial on Monday, four years after she was found shot dead in an abandoned car on the outskirts o…
France denies U.S. media story on al Qaeda defector agent: source
PARIS (Reuters) – A French defense ministry source denied on Monday a U.S. media report that a French intelligence officer had defected to al Qaeda’s branch in Syria and was being targeted for elimination by U.S. air strikes.
Chechen leader vows tough response to suicide bombing
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Chechnya’s Kremlin-backed leader promised a tough response on Monday to a suicide bombing that killed five policemen, shattering a period of relative calm in the turbulent North Caucasus region.
Outspoken Yazidi politician wins award for women against war
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The pain of a broken leg from a helicopter crash pales in comparison with the suffering of her persecuted fellow-Yazidis, the 2014 winner of an award for women working in war-stricken countries said on Monday.
Fire at Iranian defense industry plant kills two people: IRNA
DUBAI (Reuters) – An Iranian defense industry body said two workers were killed in a fire at an explosives factory in an eastern district of Tehran, the official IRNA news agency reported on Monday.
Left wingers urge Swiss to reject immigration curbs
BERNE (Reuters) – Drastically limiting immigration in Switzerland would isolate the country by damaging its ties with the European Union, left-wing groups said on Monday, calling on voters to reject the proposal.
