Ukrainian industrialist Firtash posts 125 million euro bail
VIENNA (Reuters) – Ukrainian industrialist Dmytro Firtash has posted 125 million euros ($174 million) in bail and is being held in Austria for possible extradition to the United States while authorities check the origins of the money, a Vienna court sa…
Cameroon offers 700 soldiers to Lake Chad regional force
YAOUNDE (Reuters) – Cameroon will send 700 soldiers to its northeastern border as part of a regional force to tackle armed groups in an area where Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram operates, Defence Minister Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo’o said on Th…
Rival parties warn of fraud in Turkey’s key local elections
ANKARA (Reuters) – The anger, threats and conspiracy theories in Turkey’s election campaign have prompted both sides to warn about ballot abuse, with the main opposition saying it alone plans to deploy half a million poll observers.
Russia’s lower house votes to bring Crimea into Russia
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s lower house of parliament on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a treaty to annex Crimea from Ukraine, leaving just one legal obstacle for the Black Sea peninsula to cross before it is formally absorbed by Moscow.
Afghan presidential hopeful Abdullah warns supporters over fraud
CHARIKAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) – Grizzled Afghan mujahideen commanders erupted into yells as their presidential candidate, a dapper man in a scarf and neatly trimmed beard, stepped towards the microphone.
Israeli defense chief wounds relations with U.S. ally
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon is in hot water again with the United States for caustic criticism of his country’s main ally that has put more strain on already testy relations with the Obama administration.
Greek opposition leads in opinion poll before EU elections
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece’s anti-austerity opposition held a two-point lead over the ruling conservatives in the latest opinion poll before European elections in May that are viewed as a test of support for Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’s shaky coalit…
South Africa opposition files graft charges against Zuma over home upgrade
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s main opposition party laid criminal charges against President Jacob Zuma on Thursday, accusing him of “flagrant abuse” of public money over $23 million in upgrades to his home that included a swimming pool and a …
Ivory Coast to send Ble Goude to face charges at the ICC
ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Ivory Coast will send Charles Ble Goude, a former youth leader and close ally of ex-President Laurent Gbagbo, to the International Criminal Court where he is wanted on charges of crimes against humanity, the justice minister said on…
Germany’s Russian rethink: How Merkel lost faith in Putin
BERLIN (Reuters) – On a Sunday in early March, a day after Vladimir Putin won parliamentary backing for an invasion of Ukraine, Angela Merkel called him to demand an explanation. The German leader was shaken by what she heard, sources within her party …
