NATO opens Kosovo airspace to civilian overflights after 15 years
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – NATO said on Friday it had allowed private planes to fly high over Kosovo for the first time in 15 years, letting commercial airlines save time and money by taking more direct routes across the region.
India’s opposition holds strong lead in last big poll before election
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s opposition BJP party, headed by its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, is set to win 35 percent of votes in the general election starting Monday, a poll released late on Friday showed.
Gunmen kill four soldiers, officer in Yemen checkpoint raid
ADEN, Yemen (Reuters) – Gunmen believed to be linked to al Qaeda killed four soldiers and an officer at a checkpoint on Friday in southeastern Yemen, a local official said.
Turkey’s Erdogan calls for rate cut, says no early election
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan called for an emergency interest rate cut, ruled out early elections and spoke against the lifting of a Twitter ban on Friday, signalling no let-up in his domineering style ahead of an expected r…
Rebels take northern Syrian town on main highway: activists
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Islamist rebels in Syria have retaken a town from President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, activists said on Friday, in part of an offensive along a stretch of the main highway linking Damascus to the northern city of Aleppo.
Austrian Jew to take restitution case to Europe rights court
VIENNA (Reuters) – A Jewish critic of Austria’s post-war record in returning property plundered by the Nazis plans to take his case to the European Court of Human Rights after receiving a jail sentence last year when his own restitution claim went sour…
New French government seeks confidence vote to save reform
PARIS (Reuters) – France’s newly formed government will seek a confidence vote from parliament on Tuesday, a step that would allow it to press ahead with President Francois Hollande’s business reforms to spur growth without having to risk a separate vo…
First candidate says to contest Lebanon’s presidential race
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanese Christian politician Samir Geagea announced on Friday he will run for president in an election due next month, the first candidate to formally enter a race overshadowed by growing violence and months of political paralysis.
Union protest against unemployment turns violent in Brussels
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Protesters from across Europe clashed with police in Brussels on Friday at a demonstration against high unemployment, throwing stones and smashing windows as they marched from the city center to the European Union district.
Abducted Iranian border guards freed in Pakistan: lawmaker
ANKARA (Reuters) – Four Iranian border guards have been freed in Pakistan two months after being seized by al Qaeda-linked militants on the countries’ lawless frontier, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported on Friday.
