Putin takes on West over Ukraine: who blinks first?
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken a gamble on Ukraine and is betting that U.S. President Barack Obama will blink first.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews stage mass protest against Israeli draft law
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Hundreds of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews held a mass prayer in Jerusalem on Sunday in protest at a bill that would cut their community’s military exemptions and end a tradition upheld since Israel’s foundation.
Indian Hindu nationalist Modi turns to Muslim voters
LUCKNOW, India (Reuters) – Narendra Modi, the Hindu nationalist leader tipped as India’s next prime minister, appealed to Muslim voters on Sunday and hit out at rivals accusing him of bias against the country’s largest religious minority.
Ukraine crisis gives NATO, West no good options
LONDON (Reuters) – With Western powers increasingly concluding Ukraine has lost Crimea to Russia, the U.S. and its allies face few viable options and serious questions over future relations.
Turkey’s Koc calls on Erdogan to address graft charges to lower tensions
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Mustafa Koc, chairman of Turkey’s biggest company Koc Holding, on Sunday called on the government to calm financial markets worried about a corruption inquiry and denied he has sought to undermine Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.
Iran backtracks on reports of kidnapped guards’ release
DUBAI (Reuters) – The status of five kidnapped Iranian border guards remains unclear, Iran said on Sunday, retracting earlier reports by Iranian military officials that they had been freed in Pakistan.
Al Qaeda splinter group denies killing Islamist rival in Syria
BEIRUT (Reuters) – An al Qaeda splinter group in Syria has denied it was behind the killing of a prominent al Qaeda figure last week and appeared to reject an ultimatum from rival fighters to accept mediation or face all-out assault.
Swiss economy minister wants to save bilateral agreements with EU
ZURICH (Reuters) – Switzerland’s economy minister wants to save bilateral agreements with the European Union, at risk after Switzerland voted to curb immigration from the bloc three weeks ago, he told a Swiss newspaper on Sunday.
Pakistani jets bomb militant hideout a day after Taliban ceasefire plan
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) – Pakistani warplanes bombed the hideout of a militant leader, killing five insurgents, the military said on Sunday, only a day after the Pakistani Taliban declared a one-month ceasefire to pursue stalled peace talks with t…
Witnesses recall fear, chaos after China train station attack
KUNMING, China (Reuters) – Witnesses to chilling violence at a Chinese train station placed under heavy security on Sunday recalled moments of fear and chaos after at least 29 people were killed in what authorities called a terrorist attack by Xinjiang…
