Cyprus faces fresh bailout uncertainty after privatization vote
NICOSIA (Reuters) – Cyprus faced fresh uncertainty on Friday over the future of its bailout program after lawmakers rejected privatization plans, casting doubt on a new tranche of financial aid due in March.
North Korea condemns Australian judge behind U.N. rights report
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea on Friday condemned an Australian judge who led a U.N. investigation that concluded that North Korean security chiefs and possibly its leader should face justice for torture and killings comparable to Nazi-era atrocities.
China paves way to charge ally of former security tsar in graft crackdown
BEIJING (Reuters) – A former vice minister of public security and ally of China’s retired domestic security chief, Zhou Yongkang, has resigned from his position as a national lawmaker, state media said, possibly opening the way for criminal charges aga…
Mexican kingpin’s fall clouds future of drug heartland
LA TUNA, Mexico (Reuters) – In villages nestled amid the jagged mountains where captured Mexican kingpin Joaquin “Shorty” Guzman was born, the drug trade that dominates the local economy is already breeding the next generation of smugglers and gunsling…
Main Israel lobby seeks to regain footing as Netanyahu visits U.S
WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – For years, Israeli leaders visiting Washington have been boosted by America’s main pro-Israel lobby, its influence on U.S. Middle East policy long accepted as a matter of conventional wisdom.
China detains more than 1,000 in baby trafficking crackdown
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese police have detained 1,094 people and rescued 382 infants in a nationwide crackdown on four online baby trafficking rings, state media said on Friday, as criminals prey on citizens yearning to escape strict population curbs….
China’s turbulent Xinjiang weighs anti-terror laws for the first time
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China’s restive far western region of Xinjiang is considering drafting anti-terror laws for the first time, following a string of deadly incidents, a state-run newspaper said on Friday.
Carnival holiday may take heat out of Venezuela crisis
CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelans began a week-long national holiday on Thursday as some protests still simmered, but President Nicolas Maduro’s government was hoping the break would take the heat out of the nation’s worst unrest in a decade.
Brazil’s top court overturns some convictions in political corruption case
BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s Supreme Court overturned racketeering convictions against former leaders of the ruling Workers Party on Thursday, reducing their prison sentences in the country’s biggest political corruption case.
Syria says two attempted attacks on chemical weapons convoys: U.N.
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – There were two attempted attacks on Syrian convoys transporting chemical weapons late last month, Syrian authorities told the international mission overseeing the removal and destruction of its toxic arsenal, according to a U…
