Captain of cruise liner disaster seeks new plea deal
GROSSETO, Italy (Reuters) – Lawyers for Francesco Schettino, captain of the shipwrecked Costa Concordia cruise liner, will again request a plea deal in a trial over the disaster in which 32 people died, his defense said on Wednesday.
Italy PM Letta backs deputy over Kazakh deportation
LONDON (Reuters) – Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta backed his deputy Angelino Alfano, who is under fire over the deportation of the wife of a dissident Kazakh oligarch, saying on Wednesday that a police report had shown he bore no responsibility fo…
Turkish agency warns of donor fatigue as Syria aid drops sharply
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – International aid for Syria has tailed off sharply in recent months with the conflict apparently slipping from people’s minds even as the humanitarian crisis deepens, Turkey’s IHH relief agency warned on Wednesday.
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.
