Anger in Italy as EU officials ‘laugh at Renzi’
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Italian media reacted angrily on Friday after senior European officials exchanged apparently ironic smiles at a news conference when asked if Rome may be granted extra flexibility on its budget targets.
Libya’s Tripoli airport closed after rockets hit runway
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libyan authorities closed the airport in the capital Tripoli on Friday after rockets hit a runway, airport sources and state media said.
Italy rescues more than 4,000 migrants, operations ongoing
ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s navy has rescued more than 4,000 migrants from overcrowded boats in the Mediterranean Sea south of Sicily in the past four days and several other rescue operations are still going on, officials said on Friday.
Venezuela’s U.S. dollar shortage puts health sector in intensive care
CARACAS (Reuters) – While hemophilia sufferer Sergio Tovar lay in agony for five days at a hospital in Venezuela, his friends and family scoured hospitals and pharmacies looking for life-saving drugs.
Pressure on Berlusconi children to enter politics after court ban
ROME (Reuters) – Silvio Berlusconi’s daughter Marina should lead his center-right party in European parliamentary elections after he was banned from public office, the companion of the 77-year-old media billionaire said in an interview on Friday.
Gunmen ram explosives-laden tanker into Iraq police HQ, killing many
TIKRIT, Iraq (Reuters) – Scores of gunmen took over a federal police headquarters in northern Iraq on Friday before driving a tanker laden with explosives into the building, killing many, a government official said.
France’s Hollande hits back at Sarkozy for ‘Stasi’ attack
PARIS (Reuters) – A row over judicial phone-tapping of Nicolas Sarkozy escalated on Friday as French President Francois Hollande denounced his predecessor’s allegation that judges were acting like secret police from ex-communist East Germany.
European Union signs landmark association agreement with Ukraine
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union and Ukraine signed the core elements of a political association agreement on Friday, committing to the same deal former president Viktor Yanukovich rejected last November, a move which led to his overthrow.
Turkey blocks Twitter days before vote as PM fights scandal
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s courts have blocked access to Twitter days before elections as Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan battles a corruption scandal that has seen social media platforms awash with alleged evidence of government wrongdoing.
Taiwan protesters dig in over China trade bill
TAIPEI (Reuters) – Thousands of young people in Taiwan waved banners and shouted slogans on Friday, marking the third day of their occupation of parliament to protest against a trade pact with China they fear could further swell Beijing’s economic infl…
