Merkel rival causes stir with vulgar gesture
BERLIN (Reuters) – A magazine photograph that depicts Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-left challenger making a vulgar gesture stirred sharp criticism from his political rivals on Thursday, 10 days before the German election.
EU could punish Croatia over extradition row next week
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission is likely to punish Croatia next week in a row over extradition rules that has marred the former Yugoslav state’s first months as a member of the European Union and may endanger EU aid for border control imp…
U.S. warns Syria against stalling over chemical weapons
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Documents Syria sent to the United Nations on joining the global anti-chemical weapons treaty cannot be a substitute for disarmament or a stalling tactic, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday.
Spain strengthens transparency law intended to fight corruption
MADRID (Reuters) – Lawmakers on Thursday passed amendments to beef up Spain’s first freedom of information law, intended to attack corruption and restore plummeting public trust in politics and government.
Twenty years on, Oslo failures haunt new Middle East talks
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Two decades after Israeli and Palestinian leaders met on a sun-soaked White House lawn, hopes that their historic encounter would lead to peace have faded along with photographs of their hesitant handshake.
Rwandan ties at stake as France’s genocide-hunters seek justice
REIMS, France (Reuters) – They are often compared to Serge and Beate Klarsfeld, the activist couple who came to fame in 1960s tracking down Nazis from France. But Alain and Dafroza Gauthier have their sights on Rwanda’s 1994 genocide.
U.S., Russia differ on military force as Syria talks open
GENEVA (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov opened talks on Thursday on disarming Syria’s chemical weapons programs, but differences emerged at the outset of the expected two-day negotiations.
Vatican to cooperate in Dominican Republic pedophilia investigation
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – The Vatican said on Thursday it would cooperate with Dominican Republic authorities investigating the Holy See’s former ambassador on suspicion of pedophilia and denied the envoy had been recalled to protect him from local just…
Cubans make yellow-ribbon appeal to U.S. over imprisoned spies
HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuba held a day of protest on Thursday over four intelligence agents imprisoned in the United States, displaying yellow ribbons to show national support for bringing the men home on the 15th anniversary of their arrest in Florida.
U.N. report may hint at source of Syria chemical weapons attack
UNITED NATIONS/AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – U.N. chemical weapons investigators will not explicitly blame anyone in their upcoming report on the August 21 poison gas attack in Syria, but diplomats say their factual reporting alone could suggest which side in …
