Cuba agrees to open talks with EU on new political accord
HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuba accepted a proposal by the European Union to open negotiations on a new political accord, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez told a news conference in Havana on Thursday.
Top Turkish court backs ex-army chief’s bid for release
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s constitutional court backed former army chief Ilker Basbug’s bid for release from a life jail sentence on Thursday, increasing disarray in the trial of coup plots against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan who is now battling a n…
Where West failed, people power spurs change in Bosnia
(This version of the story corrects the name of university from Manchester to Edinburgh in paragraph 19 of March 4 story)
Amid carnage of war, Syria readies for Assad re-election
DAMASCUS (Reuters) – After three years of grinding conflict, the destruction of whole city districts and an exodus of refugees all triggered by an uprising against his rule, Bashar al-Assad is quietly preparing to be re-elected.
Sober times arrive for Czech parliament with a ban on booze
PRAGUE (Reuters) – The head of the lower house of the Czech parliament has banned the sale of alcohol on the premises during plenary sessions, ending an old tradition of selling cheap booze that brightened the mood among politicians and visitors.
Uganda defends anti-gay law at main U.N. rights forum
GENEVA (Reuters) – Uganda, under fire from Western nations, defended its toughened law on gays on Thursday as being aimed at “protecting” youth from homosexuality and discouraging public displays of gay love.
Qatar rift is pivotal test for disunited Gulf families
RIYADH/KUWAIT (Reuters) – A breach between Qatar and some of its Gulf Arab neighbors is a pivotal test for a three-decade-old union of monarchies formed to stand united when threatened by common enemies.
Abbas cuts salaries of Fatah rival’s security men
GAZA (Reuters) – President Mahmoud Abbas has halted salary payments to scores of security men loyal to a rival Palestinian politician, deepening disarray within their U.S.-backed Fatah faction, officials said on Thursday.
Niger extradites Gaddafi’s son Saadi to Libya
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Muammar Gaddafi’s son Saadi, his special forces commander who fled abroad during Libya’s 2011 revolution, was imprisoned in Tripoli on Thursday after Niger agreed to send him back from house arrest there.
Iraqi minister’s son misses flight, forces plane back: airline
BEIRUT (Reuters) – A passenger plane flying from Lebanon to Iraq on Thursday turned back after the Iraqi transport minister’s son missed the flight and phoned Baghdad to stop the aircraft from landing, Middle East Airlines (MEA) said.
