Wales says Scottish independence battle will benefit UK
CARDIFF (Reuters) – Scotland’s fight for independence is unlikely to succeed but the battle will benefit the entire United Kingdom by leading to a rebalancing of powers, the leader of Wales, Carwyn Jones, said on Wednesday.
Romania president ratifies latest review of IMF aid deal
BUCHAREST (Reuters) – Romania’s President Traian Basescu ratified the latest review of a 4 billion euro aid deal with the IMF on Wednesday, ending a weeks-long standoff over a deal seen as key to the country’s economic credibility.
Somali Puntland worried Islamists may move its way: leader
NAIROBI (Reuters) – An expected drive to purge Islamist rebels from southern Somalia risks pushing them north into an area at the tip of the Horn of Africa better known for its coastal pirates than al Shabaab insurgents.
Bissau’s PAIGC names ex-minister as candidate for April vote
BISSAU (Reuters) – Thousands of drum-beating supporters accompanied former finance minister Jose Mario Vaz, candidate of Guinea-Bissau’s main PAIGC party, to register for next month’s presidential elections at the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
U.N. extends partial easing of Somalia arms embargo to October
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday extended a partial suspension of the decades-old arms embargo on Somalia for eight months while highlighting concerns about the possible diversion of weapons to al Qaeda-linked militants…
Secret Sarkozy recordings spark uproar in French right party
PARIS (Reuters) – Recordings made in secret by Nicolas Sarkozy’s campaign adviser posted on Wednesday have thrown the former French president’s UMP party into disarray, weeks before local elections in which it hoped to claw back terrain from the ruling…
World powers responsible for failing to stop Syria war crimes: U.N.
GENEVA (Reuters) – All sides in Syria’s civil war are using shelling and siege tactics to punish and starve civilians and big powers bear responsibility for allowing such war crimes to persist, U.N. human rights investigators said on Wednesday.
U.S. says ‘not at all concerned’ about Japan’s plutonium
VIENNA (Reuters) – The United States is not worried about Japan’s plutonium stocks, a senior U.S. diplomat said on Wednesday, following criticism raised by China in a new dispute between the east Asian neighbors.
Turkey’s Erdogan says calls with world leaders may have been bugged
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, embroiled in a scandal over leaked voice recordings, said on Wednesday his sensitive conversations with other world leaders may have been tapped as part of a campaign by his political enemies …
Sri Lanka questions independence of U.N. human rights boss
(Reuters) – Sri Lanka questioned the independence of the human rights office of the United Nations on Wednesday, a day after the United States asked the U.N. to investigate human rights violations by the Sri Lankan government.
