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.
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.
