Spain’s Rajoy says he was wrong to trust treasurer in party funding scandal
MADRID (Reuters) – Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy apologized on Thursday for mishandling a major corruption scandal, but denied he or his center-right People’s Party accepted illegal payments and rejected opposition calls to step down.
Polish priest’s dismissal exposes rift over dialogue with Jews
JASIENICA, Poland (Reuters) – When the outspoken Polish priest Wojciech Lemanski returned with his parishioners to his church near Warsaw after holding a prayer vigil at the Treblinka Nazi death camp in early July, a dismissal notice awaited him.
Hopes ride on Iran’s Rouhani, but huge task ahead
DUBAI (Reuters) – A wave of optimism has swept Iran since Hassan Rouhani was elected president last month, but as he takes office on Sunday the moderate cleric has a monumental task to resolve the nuclear dispute, ease stringent sanctions and revive a …
Zimbabwe’s Tsvangirai dismisses election as ‘huge farce’
HARARE (Reuters) – Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai dismissed Wednesday’s election as a “huge farce” and said the results were invalid because of intimidation and ballot-rigging by President Robert Mugabe’s ruling party, which is claiming vict…
Suspect in Burgas bombing flew to Lebanon before blast: report
WARSAW (Reuters) – A man suspected of organizing a bus bombing in the Bulgarian Black Sea city of Burgas last year flew to Lebanon two days before the attack that killed five Israelis and their driver, Polish news website tvn24.pl reported.
Bahrain king toughens anti-terrorism laws, rights groups cry foul
DUBAI (Reuters) – Bahrain’s King Hamad has toughened penalties in anti-terrorism laws before planned anti-government protests this month, approving proposals that have alarmed human rights groups which fear a crackdown on the demonstrations.
Libyan court sentences former Gaddafi minister to death
MISRATA, Libya (Reuters) – A former minister in the government of Muammar Gaddafi was sentenced to death on Wednesday for inciting violence against protesters during the uprising that led to the Libyan dictator’s overthrow in 2011, a lawyer said on Wed…
Dissident Kazakh Ablyazov faces extradition to Ukraine
AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France (Reuters) – Dissident Kazakh oligarch Mukhtar Ablyazov, accused of embezzling up to $6 billion from a bank he ran, went before a judge in southern France on Thursday and could be extradited to Ukraine, court officials said.
Germany urges Egypt to avoid ‘selective justice’
CAIRO (Reuters) – Germany urged Egypt to avoid “the appearance of selective justice” on Thursday following the arrests of some senior leaders of deposed President Mohamed Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood.
Assad says sure he will defeat Syrian rebels
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Thursday he was confident of victory against rebels in a devastating 28-month-old civil war that has killed more than 100,000 people and sent nearly two million fleeing abroad.
