Czech government exempts entrepreneurs, firms from tax after flooding
PRAGUE (Reuters) – The Czech finance ministry will exempt entrepreneurs and companies hit by this week’s floods from paying some income tax, it said on Friday.
Putin tends to image with public split, but will he remarry?
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Hours after President Vladimir Putin and his wife, Lyudmila, told Russians their marriage was over, an anchorman on a satirical on-line show gravely announced the latest news: Putin has named Lyudmila “acting First Lady”.
Russia can replace Austria in U.N. Golan monitoring force: Putin
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia is ready to replace peacekeepers from Austria in the Golan Heights, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday, after Vienna said it would recall its troops from a U.N. monitoring force due to worsening fighting in Syria.
Bissau leader’s new cabinet retains military influence
BISSAU (Reuters) – Guinea-Bissau’s interim leader appointed a new cabinet late on Thursday, adding a number of smaller parties to the government ahead of elections promised by the end of 2013 but leaving the military in charge of the key defense and in…
Iran not U.N. nuclear watchdog’s only headache, report shows
VIENNA (Reuters) – Iran may be the U.N. nuclear watchdog’s biggest headache but it is not the only country stalling inspectors’ requests for atomic-related information, a new IAEA report suggests.
British queen’s husband, 91, to undergo ‘exploratory’ surgery
LONDON (Reuters) – Prince Philip, the 91-year-old husband of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, was to undergo “exploratory” surgery on his abdomen on Friday.
France bans far-right rally after student killing
PARIS (Reuters) – French authorities banned a far-right youth rally set for Saturday in the southern city of Toulouse after the killing of a left-wing student this week sparked alarm over street violence by ultra-right groups.
Kerry to return to Mideast next week in further peace push: sources
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is set to return to Israel and the Palestinian territories next week for his fifth visit to the region in barely two months to extend his push for a revival of peace talks, sources on both side s…
China grants dissident’s brother passport ahead of Xi-Obama meet
BEIJING (Reuters) – China has granted passports to the mother and eldest brother of blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng which they hope to use to visit him in the United States, the brother said in Friday, a concession by Beijing ahead of a Sino-U.S…
Italy must stand up to Germany, Berlusconi says
ROME (Reuters) – Silvio Berlusconi urged Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta on Friday to seek a “test of strength” with Germany, saying budget austerity imposed by Berlin was killing Italian companies and putting the euro zone at risk.
