U.S. says ‘gaps narrowing’ in talks between Israelis and Palestinians
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The State Department said on Thursday that progress was being made in U.S.-mediated negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians meant to keep peace talks going, but denied reports from the region that there had been an agr…
French tycoon Dassault investigated for vote-rigging
PARIS (Reuters) – French tycoon and politician Serge Dassault was placed under formal investigation on Thursday over his alleged role in a vote-rigging scandal in the Paris suburb where he formerly served as the center-right mayor for 14 years.
Northern Ireland charges man with murder in Omagh bombing
BELFAST (Reuters) – Northern Ireland has charged a man with 29 counts of murder in the 1998 Omagh bombing, the worst attack in decades of violence in the province, police said on Thursday.
Murdoch editor ‘a man I would trust’, ex-archbishop tells UK hacking trial
LONDON (Reuters) – A former Archbishop of Canterbury took to the witness stand in Britain’s phone-hacking trial on Thursday to tell a jury the ex-managing editor of Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World tabloid was “a man I would trust”.
Prosecutor, defense urge community service for Berlusconi
MILAN (Reuters) – Both the prosecution and defence have asked a Milan court to order former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to serve a one-year sentence for tax fraud doing community service, judicial sources said on Thursday.
Scottish nationalists mark 160-day countdown to independence vote
ABERDEEN, Scotland (Reuters) – Despite a drumbeat of warnings from businessmen, financiers and British government officials that an independent Scotland would be doomed to failure, Scottish nationalists go into their spring conference this weekend with…
China’s U.S. ambassador plays down tensions after Hagel trip
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – China’s ambassador to the United States on Thursday played down the tense exchange this week in Beijing between Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and his Chinese counterpart and praised the frank talk between the two countries.
Egyptian approves draft law barring challenges to contracts
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s cabinet approved a draft investment law on Thursday that prevents third parties from challenging contracts made between the government and an investor, two government officials said, a move that could boost the struggling econ…
Franco-era policeman in extradition hearing in Spanish court
MADRID (Reuters) – A former Spanish policeman denied he had carried out torture at a hearing in a Madrid court on Thursday, part of an extradition request from Argentina, where he is wanted for crimes allegedly committed during dictator General Francis…
Israeli minister urges Netanyahu to annex settlements
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – A senior Israeli minister has urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to annex a swathe of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, saying peace talks with the Palestinians were dead.
