Portugal’s biggest unions band together for general strike
LISBON (Reuters) – Portugal’s UGT labour union said on Monday it will take part in a general strike called for June 27, making it the second time the two biggest unions would walk out together since the country’s EU/IMF bailout in 2011.
Many German tax inspectors oblivious to Holocaust, book finds
BERLIN (Reuters) – Many low-level tax inspectors in Germany’s Nazi-era finance ministry were oblivious to the Holocaust and dutifully tried to contact murdered Jews whose wealth was being plundered by the ministry’s top officials, according to a new bo…
Czech capital on alert as floods swamp central Europe
PRAGUE (Reuters) – Volunteers piled up sandbags to keep a swollen river from overwhelming the Czech capital’s historic centre on Monday after floods across central Europe forced factories to closed, drove thousands from their homes and killed at least …
ICC says Kenyan vice-president’s trial to start September 10
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto will be tried for crimes against humanity on September 10, judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) ruled on Monday, accepting his lawyers’ request for more time to prepare his defense….
Labour says own party could oust UK PM Cameron by 2015
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s opposition Labour party on Monday seized on divisions in the ruling Conservative party to suggest that David Cameron could be ousted as prime minister by his own party before the next election.
Red Cross pushing for access to Syria’s besieged Qusair
GENEVA (Reuters) – The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Monday it was still seeking a formal Syrian response to its request for urgent access to the besieged town of Qusair after a minister said aid efforts should wait until the fightin…
Analysis: Franco-German EU deal puts onus on Hollande to reform
PARIS (Reuters) – A Franco-German deal to strengthen the euro zone has ended months of bickering between Paris and Berlin and raised the onus on French President Francois Hollande to embark on potentially explosive social and economic reforms.
Swiss billionaire gets 18 years jail for Italian asbestos deaths
MILAN (Reuters) – A billionaire Swiss industrialist convicted for his part in Italy’s biggest asbestos scandal had his jail sentence lengthened to 18 years on Monday, in a ruling campaigners said would set a precedent for work-safety lawsuits.
Kurdish rebels clash with Turkish army during withdrawal
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Kurdish militants opened fire on Turkish troops in southeast Turkey near the border with Iraq on Monday, wounding one soldier, the military said, the first such incident since the rebels began withdrawing from Turkey under a peace …
U.S. came to Syrian peace effort ‘late,’ Kerry says
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States came “late” to an effort to end the Syrian civil war and is trying to prevent the total collapse of the country, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday.
