Analysis: Transforming Syria’s war could take more than arming rebels
WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) – – If the United States and allies genuinely want to change the course of the war in Syria, it may take considerably more than simply supplying the faltering opposition with weaponry.
Norway becomes first NATO country to draft women into military
OSLO (Reuters) – Norway’s parliament voted overwhelmingly on Friday to conscript women into its armed forces, becoming the first European and first NATO country to make military service compulsory for both genders.
Far from Iran election, former guerrillas lobby Washington
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – For decades, an Iranian dissident group has seemed to be on the wrong side of history. Suppressed by both the Shah of Iran and then the ayatollahs who deposed him in 1979, its supporters have faced prison, death and exile, and we…
Analysis: Italy’s Grillo facing showdown as 5-Star mutiny swells
ROME (Reuters) – Beppe Grillo, the fiery comic whose populist 5-Star Movement stunned Italy by winning a quarter of the votes in February’s election, is facing his biggest test since the vote with rebellion brewing among his novice lawmakers.
Protests hit Brazil’s biggest cities, adding to unrest
SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Small but violent protests in several Brazilian cities this week have added to a sense of growing unrest in Brazil at a time when inflation, crime and President Dilma Rousseff’s popularity are all taking a turn for the worse.
Austria corruption crackdown spreading its net wide
VIENNA (Reuters) – Suspicions of bribery at Austria’s central bank have dragged it into a nationwide crackdown on corruption that has shaken confidence in the country’s highest ranks of power and prestige.
Anti-G8 activists rally in London banking district
LONDON (Reuters) – About 100 activists rallied in the shadow of London’s Canary Wharf financial district on Friday, encircled by police, in a protest against capitalism before next week’s G8 summit in the United Kingdom.
Kuwait says it will not tolerate protests against court ruling
KUWAIT (Reuters) – Kuwait warned on Friday that it would not allow any unlicensed protest marches over a court ruling next week which will say whether a new electoral system introduced by the country’s ruler is constitutional.
Pope Francis and new Anglican leader meet, note differences
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis and the new head of the world’s Anglicans acknowledged deep differences over issues ranging from gay rights to women priests but pledged to seek unity when they met on Friday for the first time since both took offi…
Two dead in Dutch North Sea gas platform accident
PARIS (Reuters) – Two people died and one was injured in an accident on a North Sea gas platform belonging to French oil and gas utility GDF Suez, the company said on Friday.