Russia announces permanent Mediterranean naval presence
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia has deployed a naval unit to the Mediterranean Sea, it said on Thursday, a move President Vladimir Putin said was to defend Russian security but which comes as Moscow faces off with the West over Syria.
Libya must hand former spy chief to Hague court: lawyer
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The lawyer for Libya’s former spy chief Abdullah al-Senussi has demanded his surrender to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, where he would not face the threat of the death penalty.
Lawmakers, activists urge Obama to press Xi on China prisoners
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers and 30 human rights groups on Thursday urged President Barack Obama to use a weekend summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping to press for the freedom of 16 prominent political and religious prisoners.
Fighting between Sudanese army and rebels uproots 60,000: U.N.
KHARTOUM (Reuters) – More than 60,000 people have fled a town in Sudan’s main oil region since it was attacked by insurgents in April, the United Nations said in a report on Thursday.
Suicide bomber kills six Georgian soldiers in Afghanistan
TBILISI (Reuters) – Six Georgian soldiers were killed in southern Afghanistan on Thursday when a suicide bomber detonated a truck filled with explosives, the defense ministry said.
Protests held in France after left-wing student beaten to death
PARIS (Reuters) – Left-wingers protested in Paris on Thursday one day after a group of far-right militants beat a leftist student to death in a busy central Paris district.
Malian troops advance on last rebel-held stronghold
BAMAKO (Reuters) – Malian special forces advanced towards the rebel-held town of Kidal on Thursday on a scouting mission ahead of a possible assault on the last stronghold of the Tuareg separatist MNLA, a day before peace talks were due to begin.
Palestinian PM Hamdallah sworn in, faces Hamas, economic issues
RAMALLAH (Reuters) – Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and his West Bank-based government were sworn in on Thursday and one of their main challenges will be reaching a power-sharing deal with the Islamist Hamas movement ruling Gaza.
Defendants cheered at ‘show trial’ of anti-Putin protesters
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Supporters clapped and chanted “Freedom” in a Moscow courthouse on Thursday as 12 Russians went before a judge charged with mass disorder during a protest against President Vladimir Putin.
Merkel urged to come clean on Greek debt risks
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s opposition Social Democrats demanded that Chancellor Angela Merkel come clean about the risk of losses on government loans to Greece before a looming election, after the IMF said Athens may require additional debt relief as…
