From jail, Venezuela protest leader urges resistance
CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s jailed protest leader urged supporters on Friday to keep demonstrating peacefully against President Nicolas Maduro despite violence that has killed at least six people and rocked the OPEC member nation.
Cyprus junior coalition partner poised to quit government
NICOSIA (Reuters) – A junior partner in Cyprus’s center-right government said it was poised to quit the coalition in disagreement over a decision to restart peace talks on the ethnically-split island.
Ukraine peace deal halts violence but crowds still angry
KIEV (Reuters) – A breakthrough peace deal for Ukraine halted two days of violence that had turned the center of the capital into a war zone and killed 77 people, bringing sweeping political change that met many demands of the pro-European opposition.
U.N. Security Council considering targeted sanctions in Yemen
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The U.N. Security Council is considering a draft resolution to impose travel bans and asset freezes on people in Yemen who obstruct or undermine the country’s political transition and those who commit human rights violations….
Italy’s Renzi to be sworn in Saturday after unveiling cabinet
ROME (Reuters) – Italian center-left leader Matteo Renzi promised on Friday to start work on reforms immediately, after he named a new cabinet and formally accepted the mandate to form an administration he said would stay in place until 2018.
Syria submits new 100-day plan for removal of chemical weapons
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Syria has submitted a new 100-day plan for the removal of its chemical weapons after failing to meet a February 5 deadline, but the international mission overseeing the operation believes it can be done in a shorter time fram…
Eight Russians convicted of attacking police at anti-Putin protest
MOSCOW (Reuters) – A Russian judge on Friday convicted eight defendants of rioting and assaulting police at a protest against Vladimir Putin, in what one of his leading critics called a “show trial” designed to make clear the president would tolerate n…
Merkel too timid, former German chancellor Schroeder says
BERLIN (Reuters) – Former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has indirectly criticized his successor Angela Merkel, suggesting she is overly cautious and does not show enough political leadership.
Uganda leader puts anti-gay law on hold to seek more scientific advice
KAMPALA (Reuters) – Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has put a bill imposing strict penalties for homosexuality on hold to give scientists a chance to prove that homosexuality could be triggered by genes and is not a “lifestyle choice”.
Iran’s rising executions dim U.N. hopes for reforms
GENEVA (Reuters) – At least 80 people and perhaps as many as 95 have been executed in Iran already this year, a surge in the use of the death penalty that has dampened hopes for human rights reforms under President Hassan Rouhani, the United Nations sa…
