Cyprus parliament rejects state sell-offs required for aid
NICOSIA (Reuters) – International aid to cash-starved Cyprus was thrown into turmoil on Thursday after its parliament rejected a privatization plan, throwing into disarray the disbursement of a new tranche of financial assistance next month.
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 will take the heat out of the nation’s worst unrest for a decade.
NATO, Russia moving ahead with talks on Syria chemical arms mission-U.S
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Talks between NATO and Russia on a possible joint mission to protect a U.S. ship that will destroy Syria’s deadliest chemical weapons are moving ahead despite tensions over Ukraine, a top U.S. commander said on Thursday.
Iran says nuclear program to stay ‘intact’
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Iran is willing to address international concerns about its atomic activities but will keep its nuclear program “intact”, not close it down, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Thursday.
British spy agency collected images of Yahoo webcam chats: Guardian
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s spy agency GCHQ intercepted millions of people’s webcam chats and stored still images of them, including sexually explicit ones, the Guardian newspaper reported on Thursday.
Nigerian Islamists kill 12 in village attacks: witnesses
YOLA, Nigeria (Reuters) – Gunmen from Islamist sect Boko Haram shot dead at least 12 people during a four-hour siege on villages in northeast Nigeria overnight, two days after a deadly attack on a school, witnesses said on Thursday.
Russian spy ship makes surprise visit to Havana
HAVANA (Reuters) – A Russian spy ship slipped into Havana Bay for an unannounced visit during a period of turmoil in Ukraine and displays of military strength elsewhere in the world.
U.S. cites crackdowns on protestors, gays in global rights report
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on Thursday expressed growing concern about government crackdowns on peaceful protest and persecution of gays in a number of countries in its annual review of global human rights.
Morocco raises stakes in diplomatic spat with ally France
RABAT/PARIS (Reuters) – Morocco has halted judicial cooperation with France, blocking procedures from prisoner transfers to joint investigations, officials said on Thursday, in a growing dispute with its former colonial ruler over allegations of human …
NATO to plan for all options in Afghanistan, including pullout
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – NATO defense ministers agreed on Thursday to plan for all options for the alliance’s future presence in Afghanistan including a possible pullout of all its troops this year, NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.
