President and pope urge Italy’s politicians to tackle crisis
ROME (Reuters) – Italian President Giorgio Napolitano warned on Thursday of a “poisoned and unstable” climate in Italy as he joined Pope Francis in urging an end to deadlock in efforts to resolve the most serious economic crisis since World War Two.
On war anniversary, Hamas holds major military rally
GAZA (Reuters) – The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas looked to project an image of strength in Gaza on Thursday, organizing one of its largest ever military parades to mark the first anniversary of an eight-day conflict with Israel.
Court rejects Polish request to keep CIA jail hearing private
PRAGUE (Reuters) – The European Court of Human Rights has rejected a request from the Polish government to exclude the press and public from a hearing next month into whether Poland hosted a secret CIA jail on its soil, the court said on Thursday.
Exclusive: Assad allies profit from Syria’s lucrative food trade
LONDON (Reuters) – As food begins to flow into Bashar al-Assad’s Syria after several months of disruption, some of the president’s close allies stand to make substantial profits from the secretive trade, according to trade and opposition sources with k…
France studies giving more counter-terrorism aid to Libya
RABAT (Reuters) – French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Thursday France was considering giving Libya more aid in counter-terrorism, including training more police.
Faced with protests, Albania seeks rewards for destroying Syrian weapons
TIRANA (Reuters) – Albania’s government faced a growing chorus of opposition on Thursday to a U.S. request that it take on the job of dismantling Syria’s chemical weapons, despite a vow by Prime Minister Edi Rama that the poor Adriatic nation would be …
Balkan tycoon, once seen as untouchable, stands trial in Serbia
BELGRADE (Reuters) – One of the Balkans’ richest men went on trial on Thursday in a high-profile case that the Serbian government says is a long-overdue drive to end more than two decades of lawlessness.
Hezbollah will stay in Syria as long as needed: Nasrallah
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Shi’ite militants from Hezbollah will keep fighting in Syria’s civil war alongside President Bashar al-Assad’s forces as long as necessary, the group’s leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Thursday.
Disgraced German ex-president on trial on corruption charges
HANOVER, Germany (Reuters) – Christian Wulff on Thursday became Germany’s first post-war president to go on trial, charged with corruption for accepting some 700 euros for a hotel stay and meals during an Oktoberfest beer festival when he was a state p…
Love, money and power in Britain’s phone hacking drama
LONDON (Reuters) – In a reversal of fortune fit for one of their own front pages, two British former tabloid editors have witnessed the dissection of their private and professional lives in the full glare of the media at a trial in London’s most famous…
