French minister says EU’s Barroso fuelling far-right
PARIS (Reuters) – French Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg accused European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on Sunday of fuelling far-right and populist movements in Europe as EU institutions failed to defend the interests of ordinary people…
U.N. says Pakistan has food ’emergency’, but donors look elsewhere
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) – Hunger in Pakistan is at emergency levels after years of conflict and floods, but funding has dwindled as new crises such as Syria grab donors’ attention, the United Nations food aid chief said on Sunday.
Czech president hints he may try to form technocrat cabinet
PRAGUE (Reuters) – Czech President Milos Zeman indicated on Sunday he was considering forming a technocrat cabinet to replace the government of Petr Necas, who resigned on Monday in a bribery and spying scandal involving his aide.
Police remove flagpole at centre of Afghan, Taliban row
KABUL/DOHA (Reuters) – Police have removed a flagpole from the Taliban’s office in Qatar, an official said on Sunday, expunging the last visible sign of official decoration that riled the Afghan government and derailed nascent peace talks.
Scattered, smaller protests continue in dozens of Brazilian cities
SALVADOR/BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil (Reuters) – Scattered protests took place in dozens of Brazilian cities on Saturday, although fewer people took to the streets in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador, where vandalism and clashes with police have rocke…
Shootings in Saudi Shi’ite area end months of relative calm
RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi police shot a man dead on Saturday night in the Shi’ite Muslim district of Qatif, authorities said, in the second shooting incident in two days in the fractious area after months of relative calm.
France says Syrian rebels need to wrest areas from radicals
DOHA (Reuters) – Syrian rebels need to wrest back control of territory held by Islamist militants whose involvement in the conflict gives Bashar al-Assad a pretext for more violence, French President Francois Hollande said on Sunday.
Insight: Ex-Qaeda allies ready to fight for Mursi in Luxor
LUXOR, Egypt (Reuters) – When President Mohamed Mursi made a hardline Islamist governor of Luxor, it seemed his latest folly to many in this city, and across Egypt, who depend on tourists already scared off by unrest since the revolution.
Abbas accepts Palestinian prime minister’s resignation
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday accepted the resignation of his new prime minister, whose quick departure clouded efforts to project government stability after Western favorite Salam Fayyad quit the post.
Italy’s Berlusconi faces verdict in underage sex trial
ROME (Reuters) – A Milan court will decide on Monday whether Silvio Berlusconi paid for sex with an underage prostitute and abused his powers to cover it up, with the former Italian prime minister facing a jail sentence of up to six years.