Two-week search for Malaysian jet finds only frustration and suspicion
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Two weeks after a Malaysia Airlines airliner went missing with 239 people on board, officials are bracing for the “long haul” as searches by more than two dozen countries turn up little but frustration and fresh questions.
Furious reaction, political split after Turkey bans Twitter
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s ban on Twitter ahead of bitterly contested elections brought a furious reaction at home and abroad on Friday, with users of the social networking service denouncing the move as a “digital coup” and the president expressing h…
Putin completes Crimea’s annexation, Russia investors take fright
MOSCOW/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin signed laws completing Russia’s annexation of Crimea on Friday as investors took fright at a U.S. decision to slap sanctions on his inner circle of money men and security officials.
Brazil, Mexico, France to back Argentina in bonds case in U.S. court
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Brazil, France and Mexico are expected to file papers in the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday backing Argentina in its legal battle with bondholders who refused to take part in debt restructurings from the country’s 2002 default, acc…
Aid officials frustrated as Syria convoy halted on second day
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – The first U.N. convoy carrying aid from Turkey into Syria was halted on Friday, less than 24 hours after the long-awaited humanitarian mission began, with one aid official blaming “administrative hurdles” thrown up by the Syrian go…
Uruguay asks U.S. to free Cubans in return for Guantanamo transfer
MONTEVIDEO (Reuters) – Uruguay has asked the United States to free Cuban prisoners as a gesture in return for the South American country agreeing to accept detainees from the much-criticized Guantanamo detention center, President Jose Mujica said on Fr…
Algerian opposition rallies against Bouteflika re-run in April election
ALGIERS (Reuters) – Algerian opposition parties rallied several thousand supporters on Friday to call for a boycott of next month’s election and to reject President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s run for another term after 15 years in power.
Bomb explodes on runway of Libya’s main airport in Tripoli
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – A bomb exploded on the runway of Libya’s main airport on Friday, the transport minister said, highlighting the deteriorating security situation in the north African country almost three years after Muammar Gaddafi was ousted.
Italy’s Renzi brushes off talk of EU mocking over budget
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi brushed off suggestions of tensions with the EU on Friday after newspapers accused senior officials of smirking at a news conference when asked if Rome may be granted extra flexibility on its bud…
Gunmen ram explosives-laden tanker into Iraq police HQ, killing 15
TIKRIT, Iraq (Reuters) – Scores of gunmen took over a federal police headquarters in northern Iraq on Friday before ramming a tanker laden with explosives into the building, killing at least 15 people, a government official said.
