Greek PM offers to restart news broadcasts to defuse crisis
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras offered on Friday to hire a small number of workers to resume public broadcasts to stem an outcry over the shock closure of state broadcaster ERT and mend a rift in the ruling coalition.
Britain lobbies for nuclear export group to admit India
VIENNA (Reuters) – Britain has stepped up efforts to let India join an influential global body controlling nuclear exports, a move that would boost New Delhi’s standing as an atomic power but which has faced resistance from China and other countries.
Ecuador’s Congress approves thorny media law
QUITO (Reuters) – Ecuador’s Congress on Friday passed a law creating a state watchdog to regulate newspaper and television content, a move critics called a blow to free speech but the government hailed as a step toward more balanced media.
Italian island jail hosts high-end vineyard
GORGONA ISLAND, Italy (Reuters) – High on a hillside overlooking the azure sea on a small Mediterranean island, two brawny men toil under the sun in a vineyard that has just released a 50-euro ($66) wine destined for the tables of top restaurants.
Critic of Russia’s Putin raises stakes with Moscow race
MOSCOW (Reuters) – A prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Alexei Navalny, won an opposition party’s backing on Friday in a Moscow mayoral election, raising the stakes in a trial that may put him behind bars for a decade.
Bulgarians protests over media magnate as security chief
SOFIA (Reuters) – Thousands of people rallied on Friday to protest against the appointment of a media magnate as Bulgaria’s new security chief in a show of discontent after disputed elections.
Czech leader clings on after close aide charged with graft
PRAGUE (Reuters) – Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas was clinging to office on Friday after prosecutors accused a close aide of being at the center of a corrupt web of political favors and secret surveillance.
European rights body says Hungary changes threaten courts
BUDAPEST (Reuters) – A key European rights think-tank, the Venice Commission, sharply criticized Hungary’s recent amendments to its constitution on Friday, saying some provisions breached democratic principles.
Erdogan makes conciliatory move to end Turkish protests
ISTANBUL/ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told protesters on Friday he would put redevelopment plans for an Istanbul park on hold until a court rules, striking a markedly more conciliatory tone after two weeks of fierce anti-gov…
U.N. says peacekeeper killed in shelling in Sudan oil region
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A United Nations peacekeeper was killed on Friday in Sudan’s main oil region when shells struck a United Nations logistics base, a U.N. spokesman said.
