Italy’s Renzi wins confidence vote on cutting local government
ROME (Reuters) – Prime Minister Matteo Renzi won a vote of confidence in the Senate on Wednesday on a proposal to reduce the powers of provincial governments as part of his pledge to cut the cost of Italy’s political apparatus.
Moroccan police stop protesters setting themselves on fire
RABAT (Reuters) – Moroccan police spraying water cannon stopped 13 unemployed blind university graduates from setting themselves on fire in Rabat on Wednesday in protest against a public sector hiring freeze.
Leading Kenyan MP says homosexuality ‘as serious as terrorism’
NAIROBI (Reuters) – Homosexuality in Kenya is as bad a problem as terrorism, the ruling party’s parliamentary leader said on Wednesday, but argued against stepping up legal sanctions on the grounds that existing laws were tough enough.
U.N. rights boss urges international war crimes probe for Sri Lanka
COLOMBO (Reuters) – An international inquiry into alleged Sri Lankan war crimes would allow witnesses to testify after domestic probes failed to carry out credible investigations, the U.N. human rights chief said on Wednesday, on the eve of a resolutio…
Oligarch Berezovsky was ‘broken man’ after court battle, inquest hears
WINDSOR, England (Reuters) – Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky was a “broken man” after losing a multi-billion dollar court case to fellow Russian Roman Abramovich and regularly talked about killing himself in the months before his death, an inquest he…
Three killed in fighting in Lebanon’s Tripoli: sources
TRIPOLI, Lebanon (Reuters) – At least three people were killed in fighting between rival religious sects in Lebanon’s second city on Wednesday, medical and security sources said, as violence from Syria spills over into the small Mediterranean country.
Egypt army presents Sisi resignation to president: report
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s military leadership was presenting Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s resignation from his post of defense minister at a meeting with the interim head of state on Wednesday, the state-run Al-Ahram newspaper reported on its w…
Morocco sues activists in France over torture accusations
RABAT (Reuters) – Morocco has filed a lawsuit in France against activists who are suing the head of its domestic intelligence service over torture allegations, the Interior Ministry said, the latest move in a case that has divided Rabat and its former …
Afghan minister promises safe vote despite Taliban pressure
KABUL (Reuters) – Afghan Interior Minister Umer Daudzai, the man in charge of security during next week’s presidential election, said on Wednesday the country was under pressure from an escalating Taliban insurgency but pledged to ensure a safe vote.
Obama, NATO’s Rasmussen discuss enhanced exercises
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama and NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen discussed additional steps NATO could take in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea on Wednesday, the alliance’s spokeswoman said on Twitter.
