Greek government names economist as finance minister in cabinet reshuffle
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece’s government named economist Gikas Hardouvelis as finance minister on Monday, replacing Yannis Stournaras, who has steered Greece towards economic recovery after it nearly crashed out of the euro zone in 2012.
ICC ready to put Congolese warlord on trial
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Prosecutors have presented enough evidence to justify putting on trial a Congolese militia leader accused of rape, murder and enlisting child soldiers, judges at the International Criminal Court said on Monday.
Lebanon’s deadlocked politicians fail again to choose president
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanese parliamentarians failed on Monday in their sixth attempt to elect a new president, extending the political vacuum that emerged when former President Michel Suleiman’s term ended two weeks ago.
Child graves prompt Irish to ask why so many babies died in Church care
CASTLEPOLLARD Ireland (Reuters) – In the leafy grounds of a center for the disabled in rural central Ireland, a small tombstone hints at the building’s previous role as a “mother-and-baby home”. It reads: “In Memory of God’s Special Angels”.
U.S. arms could create Syria ‘warlords’, rebel commander says
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – U.S. arms supplies to Syrian rebels may create Somali-style warlords and are undermining Washington’s allies in the rebels’ exile military command, the former Syrian army general who leads it said.
Israeli spy general says Iran serious in negotiations on nuclear deal
HERZLIYA Israel (Reuters) – Iran is negotiating seriously on a deal to curb its disputed nuclear program, a senior Israeli intelligence officer said on Monday in a shift of tone from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s scepticism.
Second tanker of Kurdish oil leaves Turkey despite Baghdad protest
ANKARA/LONDON (Reuters) – A second shipment of Iraqi Kurdish crude has sailed from the Turkish port of Ceyhan, industry and government sources said, increasing the stakes in a battle with Baghdad over control of oil sales from the autonomous region.
Libyan court says PM’s election invalid, raising hopes of end to stalemate
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libya’s Supreme Court ruled on Monday that parliament’s election of Prime Minister Ahmed Maiteeq a month ago was unconstitutional, a ruling that could reduce volatile political tensions in the major OPEC member state.
Five jailed for murder of Russian reporter, but son asks: on whose orders?
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Five men received long prison terms on Monday for the killing of prominent Kremlin critic Anna Politkovskaya after a trial that failed to reveal who masterminded the Russian journalist’s murder.
Syria’s Assad grants amnesty after re-election
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad announced a wide-ranging amnesty on Monday, less than a week after he was re-elected to another seven-year term in the midst of civil war.
