Tit-for-tat gestures would replace Middle East talks
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – If Middle East peace talks collapse this month, lawfare rather than warfare looks likely to fill the void, with the Palestinians set to confront Israel on the diplomatic stage rather than in any popular uprising.
U.S. defense chief gets earful as China visit exposes tensions
BEIJING (Reuters) – Tensions between China and the United States were on full display on Tuesday as Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel faced questions in Beijing about America’s position in bitter territorial disputes with regional U.S. allies.
Libya cabinet calls for new government within week, turmoil deepens
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libya’s parliament has urged Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni to form a new government within a week, an assembly spokesman said on Tuesday, apparently rejecting a cabinet request for more powers to tackle the disorder crippling th…
Germany ushers in renewable energy reform
BERLIN (Reuters) – Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet approved on Tuesday a reform of Germany’s renewable energy law designed to curb a rise in the cost of electricity in Europe’s biggest economy driven by the rapid expansion of green power.
UK says investigating spy and police agencies’ use of private data
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s law enforcement and intelligence agencies may be overusing authorisations to access private communications data, the official who regulates the activity said on Tuesday, declaring he had begun an investigation into the matt…
German cabinet gives go-ahead to dual citizenship
BERLIN (Reuters) – The German government on Tuesday signed off on a draft law that will allow young Germans of foreign origin to have dual citizenship, a move that relaxes some of Europe’s strictest nationality laws and will benefit the large Turkish c…
Gunmen kill five soldiers at Yemen checkpoint
ADEN/SANAA (Reuters) – Suspected militants killed five soldiers guarding a checkpoint in southeastern Yemen on Tuesday, local officials said, and a leader of a Shi’ite Muslim party was wounded in a drive-by shooting in the capital Sanaa in which two gu…
Turkey’s Erdogan vows to ‘liquidate’ treachery at home and abroad
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday local elections had given him a mandate to “liquidate” the enemies he sees as contriving a corruption scandal and would go after their international activities and sources of fund…
Tunisia lawmakers start debate on key step in democratic transition
TUNIS (Reuters) – Tunisian Islamist and secular parties have begun a parliamentary debate on an election law, the final step before setting a ballot date to complete a transition to democracy in the country that lit the fuse of Arab popular uprisings.
Libyan parliament asks Prime Minister Thinni to form new cabinet within one week
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libya’s parliament has asked Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni to form a new cabinet within one week, parliamentary spokesman Omar Hmeidan said on Tuesday.
