France to allow private security on shipping fleet: PM
PARIS (Reuters) – France will allow private security forces to protect its shipping fleet against the threat of piracy, Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said in an interview published on Tuesday.
U.N. fed 3.4 million Syrians in November, but many still out of reach
GENEVA (Reuters) – The United Nations said on Tuesday it had delivered food to 3.4 million people in Syria in November, the same as the month before, but falling short again of its monthly target of 4 million as heavy fighting kept it from reaching con…
Kurds, Baghdad could agree this month on energy deals: Turkey
ANKARA (Reuters) – Iraqi Kurdistan and the central government in Baghdad, at loggerheads over oil exports and revenue sharing, could come to an agreement this month over energy deals, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said on Tuesday.
Italy PM Letta to seek new confidence vote on December 11
ROME (Reuters) – Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta will seek a confidence vote in parliament on December 11 to confirm his new majority after Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party pulled out of the ruling coalition, the government said.
Croats set constitutional bar to same-sex marriage
ZAGREB (Reuters) – Croats voted overwhelmingly in favor of defining marriage in the constitution as a “union of man and woman” on Sunday, a move initiated by Roman Catholic groups but criticized by opponents as discrimination against homosexuals.
Congo’s Kabila wants to conclude talks with rebels: statement
KAMPALA (Reuters) – Congo’s president wants talks with rebels in the country’s east concluded as soon as possible, Ugandan and Congolese statements said, although there was no sign of a breakthrough on the wording of an accord that scuppered a signing …
Protests show Putin the battle for Ukraine is not over
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Protests by hundreds of thousands of people in Ukraine against their leaders’ U-turn over Europe have sent a warning to Vladimir Putin that the battle over the former Soviet republic’s future is far from over.
South Africans fume as Jo’burg road toll goes live
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s government launched a widely unpopular road toll around the economic hub of Johannesburg on Tuesday, a move likely to heighten tensions with its union allies and alienate some voters in the run-up to next year’s …
Scandal-hit Spain plummets 10 places in global corruption index
BERLIN (Reuters) – Spain has slumped 10 places to a rank of 40 in a global index of perceived official corruption after a spate of scandals in its ruling center-right ruling party and the royal family, watchdog Transparency International (TI) said.
Ukraine protesters urge general strike as markets hit currency
KIEV (Reuters) – Ukrainian protesters blockaded the main government building on Monday, seeking to force President Viktor Yanukovich from office with a general strike after hundreds of thousands demonstrated against his decision to abandon an EU integr…
