Open letter to Obama calls for new steps to promote change in Cuba
MIAMI (Reuters) – The White House should expand licensed travel for all Americans to Cuba and increase support for civil society on the communist-ruled island, according to an open letter to President Barack Obama that was signed by an unprecedented gr…
Egypt court acquits 169 Brotherhood supporters
CAIRO (Reuters) – An Egyptian court acquitted 169 Muslim Brotherhood supporters charged in connection with unrest that followed the overthrow of president Mohamed Mursi last year, breaking a pattern of mass convictions at trials involving the Islamist …
Saudi Arabia closes embassy in Libya due to security concerns
DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia closed its embassy and consulate in the Libyan capital and withdrew all of its diplomatic staff on Monday due to security concerns, the ambassador said.
Race begins to succeed Peres as Israel’s president
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – The race to succeed Shimon Peres as Israel’s president began officially on Monday, after what was widely seen as a bid by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to abolish the post and its king-making potential.
China ‘uses channels’ to warn North Korea against nuclear test: sources
BEIJING (Reuters) – China has used diplomatic channels to warn North Korea against conducting a fourth nuclear test, multiple China-based diplomatic sources told Reuters, after the reclusive state renewed its threat of “counter-measures” against percei…
Ahead of EU vote, a struggle to close the ‘democratic deficit’
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – As exercises in democracy go, this week’s EU election rivals the United States, India and Brazil for sheer numbers.
Two Chinese workers abducted at protest-plagued mine in Myanmar
YANGON (Reuters) – Two Chinese workers have been abducted at a copper mine in Myanmar at the centre of a long-running dispute over land rights and their company said on Monday it was worried they would be harmed unless it stopped work.
Pakistan scraps case against FBI agent arrested at airport
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – A Pakistani court on Monday dropped a case against a U.S. law enforcement agent charged with weapons offenses for trying to board a flight while carrying bullets and a knife in his luggage.
Indonesian presidential election suddenly looks like a real race
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s presidential election abruptly turned into a tight two-horse race on Monday after the country’s second-largest party suddenly switched its support away from frontrunner Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to his main rival.
France’s Strauss-Kahn to sue over Cannes sex addict film
PARIS/CANNES (Reuters) – Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has instructed lawyers to sue the makers of a movie in which veteran French star Gerard Depardieu plays a sex addict who commits a sexual assault on a hotel maid, his lawyer said on Monda…
