Insight: From remote Mauritania, hacker fights for Islam worldwide
DAKAR (Reuters) – In Nouakchott, a dusty city wedged between the Atlantic ocean and western dunes of the Sahara, a young hip-hop fan coordinates a diverse group of hackers targeting websites worldwide in the name of Islam.
EU gives Serbia green light to start membership talks
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union leaders gave Serbia the go-ahead on Friday to start negotiations by January on joining the bloc, capping a remarkable transformation in the prospects of the former Yugoslavia since the wars of the 1990s.
Kerry steps up shuttle talks with Abbas, Netanyahu
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry accelerated his Middle East shuttle diplomacy on Friday in the hope of persuading the Palestinians to resume direct peace negotiations with Israel stalled over its West Bank settlements.
France challenges arbitration award in Tapie inquiry
PARIS (Reuters) – The French state legally challenged the 403 million euros ($524 million) arbitration award granted a French tycoon in 2008 after his dispute with now-defunct bank Credit Lyonnais, a lawyer in the case told Reuters on Friday.
Croatian fishermen fear EU entry may sink their trade
UMAG, Croatia (Reuters) – An English-language sign at the fishermen’s pier in the northern Adriatic town of Umag reads: “This fishing port was rebuilt with the support of the European Union”.
China calls Xinjiang unrest a ‘terrorist attack’, ups death toll to 35
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s state media has raised to 35 the death toll from unrest this week in far western Xinjiang region, and denounced the clashes, the deadliest in four years, as a “terrorist attack”.
South Africa’s Pistorius back on track for ‘low-key’ training
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African Paralympic and Olympic athletics star Oscar Pistorius has returned to the track for “low-key” training, just weeks before he is due to appear in court for the latest hearing in his murder trial.
Russian prosecutors drop jail threat against tycoon Lebedev
MOSCOW (Reuters) – State prosecutors asked a Moscow court on Friday to restrict media magnate Alexander Lebedev’s movements for 21 months for punching a rival on a TV talk show but did not demand a jail sentence.
U.S. suspends trade benefits for Bangladesh over safety
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama cut off long-time U.S. trade benefits for Bangladesh on Thursday in a mostly symbolic response to conditions in the country’s garment industry that have cost more than 1,200 lives in the past year.
Australian PM Rudd urges China action on trade deal
CANBERRA (Reuters) – Australia’s Sinophile Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Friday urged China – the country’s largest trading partner – to conclude a stalled free trade deal, using his first news conference since regaining power to praise the current bila…
