Palestinian peace talks delegation resigns, Abbas says
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday his delegation of peace negotiators has resigned over the lack of progress in U.S.-brokered statehood talks with Israel that have been clouded by Jewish settlement bu…
Syrian Kurdish leader claims military gains against Islamists
PARIS (Reuters) – Islamist groups in northern Syria are weakening after months of fighting and Kurdish militias are gaining ground, a top Kurdish leader said on Wednesday, vowing to continue their advances.
Ukraine parliament deadlock on Tymoshenko clouds EU signing
KIEV/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Ukraine’s parliament failed on Wednesday to agree on a draft law allowing jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko to go to Germany for medical treatment, clouding prospects for signing landmark agreements with the European U…
Polish president apologizes for Russian embassy violence
MOSCOW/WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland’s President apologized on Wednesday after far-right protesters threw firecrackers at the Russian embassy in Warsaw, triggering a tit-for-tat attack in Moscow and a heated diplomatic spat.
Libya’s Berbers boycott charter talks, protests cut oil output
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libya’s Berber minority will boycott a committee to draft a new national constitution, the election commission said, in a move that complicate attempts to end oil and gas protests which have dented output.
Angola detains four for kidnap, possible murder, of two protesters
LUANDA (Reuters) – Angolan authorities have detained four people for the suspected kidnapping and possible killing of two protest organizers who have been missing since May 2012, the prosecution service (PGR) said on Wednesday.
Three killed in clashes in Central African Republic’s capital
BANGUI (Reuters) – Three people were killed and several wounded in Central African Republic’s capital Bangui on Wednesday in clashes between security forces and former rebel fighters, police and government officials said.
Judge asked to invalidate Iran-Argentine probe of 1994 bombing
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – An Argentine prosecutor has asked a judge to declare as unconstitutional an agreement between Argentina and Iran to jointly investigate the deadly 1994 bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish community center that local courts blamed …
Assad’s forces make further gains around Damascus
AMMAN (Reuters) – Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad captured the southern Damascus suburb of Hujaira on Wednesday, part of a broader advance that has brought him major gains south of the capital before proposed international peace talks.
NATO builds $1 billion HQ as allies cut military spending
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – NATO is building a new, state-of-the-art headquarters in Brussels, but critics say the $1 billion project seems extravagant at a time when austerity is forcing many alliance members to slash military spending.
