U.S. hopes to get Taliban peace talks ‘back on track’
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is still hoping to have peace talks with the Taliban and Afghan officials but is not sure it will be possible, a U.S. State Department spokesman said on Monday.
Russia will have to optimize spending: Medvedev
MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Russian government, facing an economic slowdown, will have to focus its spending efforts on priority areas, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday.
Italy’s 5-Star ends losing streak to elect mayor in Sicily
ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s anti-establishment 5-Star Movement got some rare good news on Monday, when it upset expectations to elect its candidate as mayor in the Sicilian city of Ragusa after weeks of in-fighting and declining support in polls.
Car bombs kill 39 in Iraqi capital Baghdad
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Ten car-bomb explosions killed at least 39 people across the Iraqi capital on Monday, police and medical sources said.
Jews tell pope of concern over moves to make Pius XII a saint
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – A Jewish leader expressed concern to Pope Francis on Monday over attempts to make a saint of World War Two-era Pope Pius XII, who has been accused of turning a blind eye to the Holocaust.
South Africans resigned over ‘critical’ Mandela
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africans adopted a mood of sombre resignation on Monday to the inevitability of saying goodbye to former president Nelson Mandela after the 94-year-old anti-apartheid leader’s condition in hospital deteriorated to critica…
With no easy options, Brazil’s Rousseff strains to manage unrest
BRASILIA/SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Few people in Brazil know what it’s like to be 20-something and angry at the government quite like President Dilma Rousseff.
Germany proposes delaying EU-Turkey talks over protests
LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) – Germany proposed on Monday postponing a new round of European Union membership talks with Turkey by about four months to signal EU displeasure at Ankara’s handling of anti-government protests.
Albania opposition scents poll victory, urges PM to quit
TIRANA (Reuters) – Albania’s Socialist opposition urged Prime Minister Sali Berisha to accept defeat on Monday after it took a convincing lead in an election seen as a test of the NATO country’s democratic credentials.
Himalayan massacre spells end for Pakistan mountaineering
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan’s once thriving mountaineering industry is reeling from the killing by militants of 10 foreign climbers, a massacre likely to drive away all but the hardiest adventurers from some of the world’s tallest and most pristine …
