Italy needs EU help to handle tide of refugees, U.N. says
GENEVA (Reuters) – An estimated 6,000 people, many of them Syrians and Eritreans, have been rescued by Italy’s navy in four days and thousands more asylum seekers keen to reach Europe have gathered in Libya, the U.N. refugee agency on Friday.
Kuwait orders blackout in court case over ‘plot’ tape
DUBAI (Reuters) – Kuwait has imposed a news blackout on an investigation into reports of a recording that implicates unnamed people in an alleged plot to overthrow the Gulf state’s ruling system, state news agency KUNA said.
Philippine, United States reach agreement on new security deal
MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines and the United States reached agreement on Friday on a new security accord allowing American military forces to share local bases for maritime and humanitarian operations, a senior Philippine defence officials said.
Iraq insurgents use water as weapon after seizing dam
FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) – Insurgents in Iraq have added water to their arsenal of weapons after seizing control of a dam in the west of the country that enables them to flood certain areas and prevent security forces from advancing against them.
Zimbabwe opposition expels anti-Tsvangirai dissidents
HARARE (Reuters) – Zimbabwe’s opposition MDC has expelled its treasurer and two senior party members for calling for leader Morgan Tsvangirai to quit, underscoring the rifts in the party in the wake of last year’s landslide election defeat to President…
NATO chief calls on Russian troops to withdraw from Ukraine border
SOFIA (Reuters) – Russia must withdraw its troops from the Ukrainian border and enter into sincere dialogue with the West, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on a visit to NATO-member Bulgaria on Friday.
Israeli coalition partner threatens to quit over peace talks
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – A key partner in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition threatened on Friday to pull out of the government if a deal to salvage peace talks with the Palestinians includes the release of Israeli-Arab prisoners.
Erdogan suffers blow in court decision on judiciary
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s Constitutional Court annulled parts of a law tightening government control of the judiciary on Friday, dealing a blow to a reform critics saw as part of a bid by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan to suppress a corruption scandal…
U.S. accuses Russia after Putin warning on gas supplies to Europe
MOSCOW/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin warned on Thursday that Russian gas supplies to Europe could be disrupted if Moscow cuts the flow to Ukraine over unpaid bills, drawing a U.S. accusation that it is using energy “as a tool of coerc…
Venezuela’s Maduro meets opposition as death toll from protests rises
CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro cautioned opposition leaders to keep their expectations modest on Thursday as he hosted them for mediated talks intended to stem two months of deadly political unrest.
