Spain threatens unilateral steps in dispute over Gibraltar
MADRID (Reuters) – Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Friday threatened unilateral measures in a spat with Gibraltar over fisheries although he also said he hoped for talks soon with Britain about the disputed territory.
U.N. agency says it’s monitoring Fukushima and ready to help
VIENNA (Reuters) – The U.N. atomic energy agency is following closely the leak of radioactive water from Japan’s stricken Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea and is ready to help out if asked, it said on Friday.
Czech house delays vote on dissolution, October election likely
PRAGUE (Reuters) – The Czech lower house of parliament will postpone a vote on its dissolution – which will open the way to an early election – to August 20, from next Friday, to ensure enough deputies are present.
Zimbabwe’s MDC challenges Mugabe election win in court, wants re-run
HARARE (Reuters) – Zimbabwe’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) challenged President Robert Mugabe’s landslide re-election in the country’s top court on Friday, calling for a re-run of the July 31 vote the MDC says was rigged.
Al Qaeda’s widening North African jihad confounds foes
ALGIERS/LONDON (Reuters) – Inquiries into the bloody assault on an Algerian gas plant are uncovering increasing evidence of contacts between the assailants and the jihadis involved in killing the U.S. ambassador to Libya nearly a year ago.
Zanzibar police question two over acid attack, British victims home
DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) – Two British women who had acid thrown over them in Zanzibar arrived back in London on Friday and police on the semi-autonomous Tanzanian islands said they were holding two people for further interrogation.
Czech PM Rusnok to hand in resignation on Tuesday
PRAGUE (Reuters) – Czech Prime Minister Jiri Rusnok will submit his cabinet’s resignation to President Milos Zeman on Tuesday after suffering defeat in a parliamentary confidence vote, a government spokesman said.
Gunmen abduct two Turkish Airlines staff in Beirut
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Gunmen abducted two Turkish Airlines pilots in Beirut on Friday, forcing them from an airport bus in the early hours of the morning and prompting Turkey to urge its citizens to leave Lebanon.
Comedy of errors engulfs Israel’s top economic team
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was starting a meeting with his team of Middle East peace negotiators last week when Leo Leiderman, his second choice to lead the Bank of Israel, called.
Kremlin says no deal reached with Saudi on changing Syria stance
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has not made an agreement with Saudi Arabia to scale back support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in exchange for economic incentives including an arms deal, the Kremlin said on Friday.
