Bolshoi director confronts alleged acid attacker in court
MOSCOW (Reuters) – The artistic director of Russia’s Bolshoi ballet told a Moscow court on Wednesday that a dancer accused of plotting an acid attack that nearly blinded him had spread false accusations that he had love affairs with ballerinas.
Capriles seeks papal mediation in Venezuela politics
CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s opposition leader Henrique Capriles held a private meeting in Rome with Pope Francis on Wednesday and sought his mediation in the South American nation’s tumultuous internal politics.
Kosovo to repeat vote in Serb north, defying hardliners
PRISTINA/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Kosovo’s government said on Wednesday it would re-run a watershed election in the ethnic Serb-dominated north, setting up a showdown with Serb hardliners opposed to EU-backed efforts to end Kosovo’s de facto partition.
Germany wants Snowden to give evidence in Moscow, not Berlin
BERLIN (Reuters) – German lawmakers looking into secret U.S. monitoring of Angela Merkel’s mobile phone said on Wednesday they would try to take evidence from former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden in Moscow without compromising his status th…
Iran’s Zarif charms Paris with smiles, optimism and a rug
PARIS (Reuters) – Iran’s Foreign Minister ended a two-day visit to France on Wednesday, a country he said was the most intransigent among the six world powers – including the United States – that he will face at nuclear talks this week.
Colombia, FARC rebels reach agreement on political participation
HAVANA (Reuters) – Colombia’s government and Marxist FARC rebels have reached an agreement on the critical issue of the guerrillas’ future in politics, the two sides said on Tuesday in what could be a key step forward in their peace talks to end their …
Rights groups condemn life sentences for three Turkish journalists
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Rights groups accused Turkey’s courts of using anti-terrorism laws to silence dissent on Wednesday after three journalists were handed life sentences for alleged links to a banned far-leftist organization.
EU envoys resume efforts to free Ukraine’s Tymoshenko
KIEV (Reuters) – European Union mediators resumed efforts in Ukraine on Wednesday to secure the release from jail of opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko as the clock ticks down to the signing of landmark trade accords at the end of the month.
Suicide bomber kills six in assault on Iraqi police station
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – A suicide bomber ploughed an oil tanker packed with explosives into an Iraqi police station in a village north of Baquba on Wednesday, killing at least six policemen, police said.
Nigerian president seeks state of emergency extension
ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan asked the national assembly on Wednesday to extend by six months a state of emergency in three northeastern states where the military is fighting a drawn out battle with Islamist militants.
