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.
Leftist former French prime minister Mauroy dies
PARIS (Reuters) – Former French prime minister Pierre Mauroy, who pushed through a string of worker benefits as the head of modern France’s first Socialist government, has died aged 84, the government said on Friday.
Protesters allow out bankers, lawmakers trapped in Bosnian parliament
SARAJEVO (Reuters) – Around 1,500 lawmakers, government employees and international bankers stuck inside Bosnia’s parliament for 14 hours were allowed to leave the building in the early hours of Friday after a deal was reached with blockading protester…
Russia’s Putin and wife say their marriage is over
MOSCOW (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin and his wife, Lyudmila, told Russians on Thursday that their 30-year marriage was over, confirming longstanding speculation that they had separated.
North Korea reopens hotline with South, seeks weekend talks
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea reopened a Red Cross hotline with South Korea on Friday and invited officials from Seoul to talks over the weekend, a further sign the North wants to improve ties after a barrage of threats to wage war this year.
Seven Georgian soldiers killed in southern Afghanistan
KABUL (Reuters) – A suicide bomber detonated a small truck loaded with explosives in southern Afghanistan, killing seven Georgian soldiers, NATO and Georgian officials said on Friday, and the Afghan Taliban claimed responsibility.
France, Japan join forces for larger share of nuclear market
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan and France on Friday agreed to boost nuclear cooperation to secure a larger share of global atomic energy markets as Tokyo’s pro-nuclear government looks to restart reactors despite public unease in the wake of the Fukushima dis…
