Italy PM Renzi wins strong backing from Obama
ROME (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama visited the Colosseum in the latest stop on his European tour on Thursday, calling the ancient Roman arena “remarkable, unbelievable” and he was almost as lavish in his praise for Italy’s 39-year-old Prime M…
U.N. launches Sri Lanka war crimes investigation
GENEVA/COLOMBO (Reuters) – The United Nations on Thursday launched an inquiry into war crimes allegedly committed by both Sri Lankan state forces and Tamil rebels during the conflict that ended in 2009, saying the government had failed to investigate p…
U.N. watchdog urges Obama to curb drone use, surveillance
GENEVA (Reuters) – A U.N. human rights watchdog called on the Obama administration on Thursday to limit its use of drones targeting suspected al-Qaeda and Taliban militants and to curb U.S. surveillance activities at home and abroad.
Cyprus axes police chief after protesters gatecrash peace event
NICOSIA (Reuters) – Cyprus’s president fired the island’s police chief on Thursday, accusing him of incompetence after Greek Cypriot activists disrupted an event involving a leading figure in the Turkish Cypriot community.
Saudi Prince Muqrin named second-in-line to succeed king
RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz, a former intelligence chief in the conservative Islamic kingdom, has been appointed deputy crown prince, Saudi state television reported on Thursday, making it more likely he will one day b…
Qatari sentenced to death for murder of British woman
DOHA (Reuters) – A Qatari court sentenced a local man to death for the murder of a British school teacher and gave another Qatari man a three-year jail term for helping the killer, in verdicts handed down on Thursday.
Exclusive: Pakistan Taliban agrees to ceasefire to help Afghan allies
KABUL (Reuters) – The Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan have secretly agreed to focus on carrying out operations in Afghanistan, with Pakistani militants announcing a ceasefire with their government in order to preserve militant bases used to stage c…
Canary Island emergency services mistake ship for crashed plane
MADRID (Reuters) – The Canary Islands emergency services on Thursday said staff mistook a large tugboat pulling a ship for a crashed plane two miles off Gran Canaria Island, moments after saying that a plane had fallen into the sea.
Croatian court rules to extradite Yugoslav-era spy chief to Germany
ZAGREB (Reuters) – A Croatian court ruled on Thursday that the head of former Yugoslavia’s secret service can be extradited to Germany where he is wanted for the killing of a dissident in 1983.
Ahead of vote, Erdogan paints picture of Turkey besieged by enemies
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – To the adulation of the cheering crowds at his election rallies, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan paints a picture of an “evil alliance” plotting to topple him and break Turkey. In another place, on another day, his chief rival portra…
