South Africa watchdog: Zuma benefitted from ‘excessive’ $23 million home makeover
PRETORIA (Reuters) – President Jacob Zuma benefitted “unduly” from a $23 million state-funded security upgrade to his home that included a cattle enclosure and amphitheatre, South Africa’s graft watchdog said on Wednesday in a damning report six weeks …
Moscow signals concern for Russians in Estonia
GENEVA (Reuters) – Russia signaled concern on Wednesday at Estonia’s treatment of its large ethnic Russian minority, comparing language policy in the Baltic state with what it said was a call in Ukraine to prevent the use of Russian.
Austrian MPs grill Iranian foreign minister over rights
VIENNA (Reuters) – Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif defended Iran’s human rights record to Austrian members of parliament on Wednesday but acknowledged there was room for improvement, according to people who took part in the meeting.
Venezuela slums shun protests for community work
CARACAS (Reuters) – Opposition activists in the slums of eastern Caracas hope to unseat President Nicolas Maduro, but not by blocking streets or burning tires. They plan to build parks and fix roads to show that the opposition can do more for poor neig…
Crimea vote as worthless as Falklands poll: Argentina president
PARIS (Reuters) – Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, who has been campaigning for the Falkland Islands to become part of Argentina, said last week’s referendum in Crimea was as worthless as a vote held last year over the British territory in the S…
Venezuela arrests seven in cocaine case of Berlusconi’s ex-aide
CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan authorities have detained seven people, including four young workers at an airport cafe, in connection with the cocaine smuggling arrest of an ex-secretary to former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Tensions rise in Lebanon as Syria extends control over border
BEIRUT (Reuters) – The Lebanese army reopened a road between two towns near the Syrian frontier on Wednesday to try to calm sectarian rivalry that has been aggravated by a Syrian government campaign to tighten its grip on the border region.
U.S. NRC Commissioner Magwood to head OECD nuclear agency
(Reuters) – U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner William Magwood is leaving the NRC to become Director General of the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Nuclear Energy Agency, the NRC said in an email Wednesday.
UK police in Madeleine McCann case probe new intruder link
LONDON (Reuters) – British detectives investigating the 2007 disappearance of Madeleine McCann said they were looking for a man suspected of carrying out a series of sexual assaults on young girls staying in Portuguese holiday villas between 2004 and 2…
German prosecutors probe firms for Syria chemical weapons links
BERLIN (Reuters) – The German government has asked federal prosecutors to examine whether German firms broke the law by exporting equipment to Syria during the 1980s and early 1990s that may have helped the country to develop chemical weapons.
