Pirate attacks by heavily armed gangs surge off Nigerian coast
LONDON (Reuters) – Pirate attacks off Nigeria’s coast have jumped by a third this year with ships passing through West Africa’s Gulf of Guinea, a major commodities hub, increasingly under threat from gangs wanting to snatch cargoes and crews.
Bachelet way ahead of the pack, but Chile runoff likely: poll
SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Popular center-left candidate Michelle Bachelet is poised to win Chile’s presidential election next month, but eight other candidates jostling in the first round may push the vote to a runoff, a poll showed on Thursday.
Nobel winners urge Putin to drop Greenpeace piracy charge
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Eleven Nobel Peace Prize laureates urged Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday to drop piracy charges against 30 people detained over a Greenpeace protest last month at an Arctic oil rig.
Edward Snowden’s father, after Russia visit, says son not a fugitive
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The father of Edward Snowden said on Wednesday that the former U.S. spy agency contractor is not a fugitive and should stay in Russia “to make sure the true story is told” about his intentions in leaking sensitive information.
Russia says Iran nuclear talks were ‘quite promising’
MOSCOW (Reuters) – International talks this week on Iran’s nuclear program were “quite promising” and Tehran’s new proposals could produce progress toward ending the standoff between global powers and the Islamic state, Russia said on Thursday.
Britain’s economic rebound helps PM Cameron pull level: poll
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s economic recovery has helped Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservatives to pull level with the Labour Party, an opinion poll showed on Thursday, with about 18 months to go before an election in 2015.
Gunmen kill two Tunisian police in northern city
TUNIS (Reuters) – Islamist militants killed two Tunisian policemen in clashes on Thursday in the northeastern city of Goubellat, a security source told Reuters.
Schoolgirl expulsion reignites French migration row
PARIS/MITROVICA, Kosovo (Reuters) – A 15-year-old girl taken off a school bus and deported to Kosovo has become the latest focus of France’s agonized debate over migration, putting Interior Minister Manuel Valls under fire from his own Socialist lawmak…
Turkey revealed Israeli spy ring to Iran-report
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Turkey deliberately blew the cover of an Israeli spy ring working inside Iran in early 2012 and dealt a significant blow to Israeli intelligence gathering, according to a report in the Washington Post on Thursday.
Italian president called as witness in mafia case
ROME (Reuters) – A Sicilian court will call Italy’s president to testify in an investigation into alleged secret talks between the mafia and the state in the wake of deadly bombings two decades ago, judicial sources said on Thursday.
