Confusion, doubt as Pakistan tries to talk to Taliban militants
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan’s much-awaited talks with the Taliban got off to a shambolic start on Tuesday after government negotiators failed to turn up at an agreed time following days of confusion over who should represent the insurgents.
Britain says it advised India on 1984 Golden Temple attack
LONDON (Reuters) – Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Tuesday an official investigation had shown Britain did advise India on planning a deadly attack against Sikh separatists in the Golden Temple at Amritsar in 1984, but said its advice had limit…
England and Wales urge Scotland: Don’t leave us
LONDON (Reuters) – Despite sporting and historic rivalry, England and Wales had one message for Scotland on Tuesday: don’t leave us.
Czech president to appoint former PM Rusnok to central bank
PRAGUE (Reuters) – Czech President Milos Zeman will appoint Jiri Rusnok, who led a caretaker government until January, to the central bank board on Wednesday February 5, the president’s office said.
Celebrity tax dodging prompts calls for crackdown in Germany
BERLIN (Reuters) – Revelations that prominent Germans have for years hoarded cash in secret bank accounts have prompted calls from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Social Democrat (SPD) coalition partners for a clampdown on tax dodging.
Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew hospitalised with fever
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore’s first prime minister and the man widely credited with the city state’s economic success, Lee Kuan Yew, is in hospital recovering from an infection.
Thai PM under fire as rice scheme sinks, poll challenged
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Pressure on Thailand’s embattled government mounted on Tuesday, when a flagship rice-buying scheme vital to its support stumbled closer to collapse and the opposition filed legal challenges that could void a disrupted weekend electi…
Kurds from Iraq wage holy war in Syria with one eye on home
HALABJA, Iraq (Reuters) – Twenty-five year old Ako Abd al-Qadir went to wage holy war in Syria vowing to return and conquer all of Iraqi Kurdistan in the name of Islam on the way back to his home town of Halabja.
Russia says Syria to ship more chemical arms, attend talks
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia offered assurances on Tuesday that the Syrian government will show up at a new round of peace talks next week and will soon ship more toxic agents abroad for destruction under a deal to eliminate its chemical weapons arsenal.
German foreign minister threatens sanctions against Ukraine
BERLIN (Reuters) – German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has said sanctions should be used as a threat against Ukraine’s government unless it finds a political solution to its long-running, at times violent, dispute with the opposition.
