Obama’s U.N. nominee calls world body’s inaction on Syria a ‘disgrace’
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Samantha Power, President Barack Obama’s nominee as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, called the U.N. Security Council’s response to Syria’s civil war a “disgrace” on Wednesday at her confirmation hearing before the Senate F…
Czech parliament rejects early election plan
PRAGUE (Reuters) – The Czech lower house of parliament rejected a motion on Wednesday to dissolve itself and force an early election in September, setting up more months of political uncertainty.
Kerry urges Israel to ‘look hard’ at Arab peace initiative
AMMAN (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged Israel on Thursday to consider carefully a 2002 Arab League peace initiative that it rejected in the past.
Russian protest leader wins one battle and faces another
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian protest leader Alexei Navalny won a rare victory on Wednesday by being accepted as a candidate in a Moscow mayoral election which he sees as a stepping stone to challenging Vladimir Putin for the presidency.
Kerry says Israeli-Palestinian gaps narrowed significantly
AMMAN (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry voiced confidence on Wednesday he was on track toward achieving soon a resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, saying gaps had been greatly narrowed.
Italy minister faces more pressure over Kazakh case
ROME (Reuters) – The deputy head of Italy’s fragile ruling coalition faced growing pressure on Wednesday to resign over the expulsion of a dissident Kazakh oligarch’s wife and daughter, posing a threat to the stability of Prime Minister Enrico Letta’s …
Gunmen kill pro-Assad figure in Lebanon as Syria war spreads
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Suspected rebel gunmen assassinated a well-known supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Lebanon on Wednesday, the latest sign that Syria’s civil war is spreading to its smaller neighbor.
Stray bullets from Syria kill two in Turkish border town
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) – A man and a 15-year-old boy were killed by stray bullets shot from Syria in a Turkish border town and Turkish troops returned fire, officials said on Wednesday, in the most serious spillover of violence into Turkey in wee…
Pirates hijack tanker off Gabon as shipping risks spread
LONDON/LIBREVILLE (Reuters) – Pirates have hijacked an oil products tanker with 24 crew onboard off the Gabon coast, the vessel’s operator said on Wednesday, the most southerly in a spate of raids in West Africa’s Gulf of Guinea shipping zone.
Iran’s Rouhani says Israel threats ‘laughable’
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iranian President-elect Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday it was laughable for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to say that Tehran was getting close to Israel’s “red line” over its nuclear program and derided the Jewish state’s abilit…
