North Korea accuses South of bid to kidnap nine youths sent home
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea accused South Korean activists on Wednesday of trying to kidnap nine young people who the United Nations and South Korea believe were forced back to their homeland by China last week.
Swiss lawmakers put U.S. tax deal vote on ice
BERN/ZURICH (Reuters) – Switzerland’s parliament halted a bill on Wednesday that would let Swiss banks hand over client information to the U.S. authorities as part of a clampdown on tax evasion, saying it needed to know more about what the deal involve…
Pakistan PM Sharif sworn in, calls for end to drone strikes
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, formally elected by parliament on Wednesday, again called for an end to U.S. drone strikes aimed at militants which many view as a breach of Pakistan’s sovereignty.
Nigeria orders 20-year jail term for Boko Haram support
ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has declared the Islamist rebel force Boko Haram and splinter group Ansaru to be terrorist organizations, meaning anyone who supports them could face a 20-year-jail sentence.
U.S. soldier expected to plead guilty to killing Afghans in cold blood
SEATTLE (Reuters) – A U.S. Army sergeant charged with killing 16 Afghan civilians in cold blood was due in court on Wednesday for a court-martial proceeding in which he is expected to plead guilty under a deal with military prosecutors to avoid the dea…
Ex-Murdoch editor Brooks pleads not guilty in hacking charges
LONDON (Reuters) – Rebekah Brooks, a former executive to Rupert Murdoch and a close friend of Prime Minister David Cameron, pleaded not guilty in a London court on Wednesday to charges of criminal behavior during her time at two national tabloids.
Even after earlier fire, China poultry plant workers didn’t query locked doors
DEHUI, China (Reuters) – Workers at a poultry slaughterhouse in northeastern China where 119 people died in a fire this week saw nothing odd in the plant’s doors being locked, even after a previous fire at the 4-year-old facility.
Most Europeans, especially the French, unhappy about EU: survey
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Nearly two-thirds of French people think the European Union is headed in the wrong direction and more than half disapprove of President Francois Hollande’s leadership, according to a widely-watched survey released on Wednesday.
Yemen army starts operation against al Qaeda in east
ADEN (Reuters) – Yemeni troops backed by tanks and helicopters assaulted an eastern city on Wednesday to drive out al Qaeda-linked militants who had planned to set up an Islamist emirate there, a local official said.
Slovenian opposition leader convicted in bribery case
LJUBLJANA (Reuters) – Slovenian opposition leader and former prime minister Janez Jansa and two co-defendants were found guilty on Wednesday of receiving bribes in a 2006 deal with Finnish defense manufacturer Patria.
