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.
West plans special court for Kosovo organ harvesting charges
PRISTINA (Reuters) – Plans are under way for a European Union-backed special tribunal to try Kosovo Albanian former guerrillas accused of harvesting organs from murdered Serbs during the Balkan country’s 1998-99 war, officials say.
