French PM appeals to rebel Socialist lawmakers on savings plan
PARIS (Reuters) – French Prime Minister Manuel Valls sought to appease rebel Socialist lawmakers on Monday, offering to exempt the country’s poorest from a welfare spending freeze intended to address EU criticism of its budget.
Bulgaria charges two senior magistrates with embezzlement
SOFIA (Reuters) – Bulgarian prosecutors charged two senior magistrates on Monday with embezzling European Union funds in a scandal that has further dented public trust in the judiciary system of the EU’s poorest member state.
Nigeria can handle Boko Haram, part of ‘raw democracy’, says minister
ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigeria is preparing a special development plan for its poor, violence-hit northeast and increasing spending to counter an Islamist revolt there that could dent growth in Africa’s No. 1 oil producer if it worsens, the country’s financ…
Malaysia detains nine suspected of terrorist links
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysian police said nine people were detained on Monday on suspicion of involvement in terrorist acts or forming links with terrorists inside the country and abroad.
Algeria’s veteran president Bouteflika sworn in for fourth term
ALGIERS (Reuters) – Algeria’s President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was sworn in for a fourth five-year term on Monday after he easily won an election opponents dismissed as fraudulently returning the ailing 77-year-old to power.
China says paying attention to Norwegian change of heart on Dalai Lama
BEIJING (Reuters) – China said on Monday that it was “paying attention” to a decision by Norway’s prime minister and foreign minister not to meet exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, which was worthy of approval if Norway was addressing past…
Taiwan police clash with anti-nuclear protesters
TAIPEI (Reuters) – Police in Taiwan fired water cannons on Monday to disperse hundreds of anti-nuclear protesters refusing to give up their campaign despite a government pledge to halt work on the island’s fourth nuclear power plant.
China approves of Norwegian leaders not meeting Dalai Lama
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s foreign ministry said on Monday that it approved of a decision by Norway’s prime minister and foreign minister not to meet exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama when he visits next month.
Rohingya health crisis in west Myanmar after aid groups forced out
KYEIN NI PYIN CAMP, Myanmar (Reuters) – As three-month-old Asoma Khatu approached her final, labored breaths, her neighbor Elia, a 50-year-old former farmer, dug through the strongbox holding some of the last medicines in this camp for Myanmar’s displa…
Exclusive: War-ravaged Syria may face worst wheat harvest in 40 years
AMMAN/ABU DHABI (Reuters) – War and drought have crippled Syria’s wheat crop, with some experts now forecasting output of the staple food could fall to around a third of pre-war levels, and possibly even below 1 million metric tons ( 1 metric ton = 1.1…
