Panama freeing most of North Korean crew in smuggled arms case
PANAMA CITY (Reuters) – Panama is freeing most of the 35 North Korean crew members it detained more than four months ago for smuggling Cuban weapons aboard a ship, a senior government official said on Wednesday.
Libya struggles to pay salaries, more clashes erupt
TRIPOLI/BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) – Libya’s Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said on Wednesday his government will be unable to pay public salaries and may have to seek loans if armed militias blockading oilfields and ports continue to choke off crude shipmen…
UK clashes with EU over plan to curb migrant benefits
LONDON (Reuters) – Prime Minister David Cameron unveiled plans to limit European Union migrants’ access to welfare in Britain and said he wanted eventually to restrict migrants from poorer EU states relocating to richer ones, stirring a row with the Eu…
FARC peace may cut Colombia cocaine, but synthetic drugs new scourge
BOGOTA (Reuters) – A peace deal between FARC rebels and the Colombian government would greatly help cut cocaine production in Colombia, but officials fear new crime gangs could fill the gap while anti-narcotics police fight a new scourge: synthetic dru…
Witness-tampering charges could derail Bemba war crimes trial
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – A lawyer for former Congo vice-president and war crimes suspect Jean-Pierre Bemba went on trial himself on Wednesday on charges of colluding with his client and three others to mislead the court with forged documents and bribed wi…
Kenyan president vetoes ‘unconstitutional’ media law
NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya’s president vetoed a bill on Wednesday that would have imposed fines and restrictions on journalists, saying it was unconstitutional, the first time he has used his power to reject legislation.
Ukraine president tells EU to keep off Tymoshenko case
KIEV (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich said the European Union should stop meddling in the fate of his rival, former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, and that her imprisonment should not hinder Kiev’s integration with Europe.
Egypt orders arrest of two symbols of anti-Mubarak revolt
CAIRO (Reuters) – Two Egyptian pro-democracy campaigners renowned for their role in the popular uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak are to be arrested for inciting protests, a source in the prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday.
Merkel clinches “grand coalition” deal with SPD
BERLIN (Reuters) – Chancellor Angela Merkel clinched a coalition deal with the Social Democrats (SPD) on Wednesday that rolls back decade-old reforms of the German welfare state but preserves Berlin’s strict approach towards struggling European partner…
Mali’s ex-junta chief remanded in custody after questioning: government
BAMAKO (Reuters) – Mali’s former military chief, General Amadou Sanogo, has been remanded in custody after he was questioned by a judge on Wednesday, Mali’s Defense Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga said.
