U.S. diplomat plays down leaked call; Germany’s Merkel angry
KIEV (Reuters) – A top U.S. diplomat tried to play down the damage to Washington’s diplomacy in Ukraine from a leaked telephone call on Friday, but German Chancellor Angela Merkel called an obscene remark about the EU “absolutely unacceptable.”
Cyprus peace talks to resume, leaders meet February 11: U.N.
NICOSIA (Reuters) – The leaders of Cyprus’s estranged Turkish and Greek Cypriot communities will resume peace talks on February 11, the United Nations said on Saturday, breaking an 18-month stalemate.
Khamenei: U.S. would overthrow Iranian government if it could – media
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran’s Supreme Leader said on Saturday the United States would overthrow the Iranian government if it could, adding Washington had a “controlling and meddlesome” attitude towards the Islamic Republic, Iranian media reported.
Afghan civilian deaths up in 2013 as war intensifies: U.N.
KABUL (Reuters) – War took an increasing toll on Afghanistan’s civilians in 2013 as fighting intensified between the government and insurgents, the United Nations said in a report on Saturday, with total casualties rising 14 percent.
U.S. stresses commitment to defend Japan in Washington talks
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on Friday stressed its commitment to the defense of Japan and stability in the Asia-Pacific region against a backdrop of increasingly assertive territorial claims by China.
Ukraine’s Yanukovich, Russia’s Putin hold Sochi tete-a-tete
BOCHAROV RUCHEI, Russia (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, who is facing mass protests and economic turmoil at home, held a one-on-one meeting with Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Sochi on the day of the opening of the Winter Olympics, a Kre…
South Africa mine union steward killed in police clash
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – A union steward was killed in a clash with police at an Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) mine in South Africa, where workers were holding a strike to press for higher wages, the company said on Saturday.
Obama aide Rice says recent troubles shouldn’t derail U.S.-India ties
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A top White House adviser attempted to smooth over troubled ties between the United States and India on Friday, saying the two countries should not allow the dispute over an Indian diplomat to “derail the future we are working di…
Egypt’s top TV satirist returns, criticizes public for lionizing Sisi
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s top satirist returned to television on Friday for the first airing of his show since it was pulled three months ago, and he skewered the public and media for lionizing the army chief widely expected to be the country’s next pr…
German tourist, 76, shot dead on Venezuelan island
CARACAS (Reuters) – A gunman shot dead an elderly German tourist on Venezuela’s Margarita island on Friday, authorities said, in the latest incident illustrating the country’s rampant crime.
