France’s Valls wins parliament backing for tax and spend shake-up
PARIS (Reuters) – New Prime Minister Manuel Valls won a vote of confidence in parliament on Tuesday after unveiling planned tax and public spending cuts, vowing to bring France’s public deficit down while resisting outright austerity.
U.N. rights chief says Syria government abuses ‘far outweigh’ rebels
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Human rights violations by Syrian government forces “far outweigh” those by armed opposition groups, U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay said on Tuesday, prompting the Syrian U.N. envoy to accuse her of acting like an irrespo…
U.S. urges Burundi to drop constitution changes, avoid ‘dark days’
BUJUMBURA (Reuters) – The United States urged Burundi’s president on Tuesday to drop planned constitutional changes that could upset a delicate ethnic power balance, warning that the country risked a return to the “dark days” of civil war.
Conservative Merkel ally criticizes German foreign minister over Russia
BERLIN (Reuters) – A senior Christian Democrat criticized German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s stance on Ukraine and Russia in a signal of a possible rift appearing within Chancellor Angela Merkel’s right-left coalition over relations with…
Britain hosts first state visit of Irish president
LONDON (Reuters) – President Michael Higgins became the first Irish head of state on Tuesday to make a state visit to Britain, crowning a big improvement in historically fraught relations between Dublin and its former colonial master.
Venezuela opposition to join exploratory talks with government
CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s opposition said it agreed to attend exploratory talks on Tuesday with President Nicolas Maduro’s government in a bid to end the country’s worst political unrest for a decade.
Israel, Palestinians press on with peace talks rescue bid
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli and Palestinian negotiators ended another U.S.-mediated session on Tuesday with no sign of a breakthrough in efforts to save peace talks from collapse, but an Israeli official said they had agreed to meet again.
Libya’s NOC keeps force majeure in place at eastern oil ports
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libya’s National Oil Corp (NOC) has yet to lift force majeure at the eastern ports of Zueitina and Hariga following a deal with federalist rebels to reopen them after a nine-month blockade, an oil ministry official said on Tuesday.
Netanyahu orders crackdown on pro-settler vandals
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday ordered a crackdown on pro-settler activists accused of assaulting Israeli troops at a Jewish enclave in the occupied West Bank.
France says backs evacuation of Muslims in CAR ‘as last resort’
PARIS (Reuters) – France said on Tuesday it supported the evacuation of Muslims under threat of reprisals in Central African Republic “as a last resort”, saying that the priority was to save lives despite concerns it could lead to the division of the c…
