Costa Rica probes soapy money-laundering link to Venezuela
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (Reuters) – Costa Rica said on Thursday it was investigating two men suspected of laundering money for Venezuelan government firms after detecting a shady scheme to buy millions of bars of soap.
At least 22 killed as bombs tear through coffee shops in Iraq
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Bombs exploded in busy coffee shops and at other targets across Iraq late on Thursday, killing at least 22 people, police and medics said.
Egypt’s Mursi circles wagons as trouble looms
CAIRO (Reuters) – President Mohamed Mursi came to office promising to be a president for all Egyptians. A year into his term, the divisions deepened by his rule have pitched the nation into crisis.
Analysis: Egypt prepares leap in the dark. Again
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt is heading for a “dark tunnel”, says the head of its armed forces. How he and his generals respond to a political showdown in the streets may determine whether its new democracy survives to see the light.
U.S. suspends trade benefits for Bangladesh over safety
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama on Thursday cut off longtime U.S. trade benefits for Bangladesh in a mostly symbolic response to dangerous conditions in that country’s garment industry that have cost more than 1,200 lives in the past year…
Obama starts long-awaited Africa tour at slave port
GOREE ISLAND, Senegal (Reuters) – Almost four centuries after Africans started being shipped to North America as slaves, the first U.S. president of African ancestry on Thursday visited an infamous embarkation point for those destined for lives in chai…
Analysis: Clashing visions weigh on U.S. drive for Taliban talks
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – As the United States makes a fresh attempt to start talks with the Taliban, competing visions in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan over what an eventual peace process might look like have emerged as one of the biggest hurdles.
Spain ruling party’s ex-treasurer sent to jail in corruption case
MADRID (Reuters) – A former treasurer for Spain’s ruling People’s Party was sent to jail without bail on Thursday as the High Court continues a pre-trial investigation into corruption charges against him.
Top officer rejects comparison of U.S., Chinese cyber snooping
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The top U.S. military officer on Thursday dismissed comparisons of Chinese and American snooping in cyber space, saying all countries gathered intelligence on their potential adversaries but Beijing’s problematic “niche” was inte…
Kerry resumes tough Israeli-Palestinian peace mission
AMMAN (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s drive to revive Middle East peace talks hit familiar warning signals on Thursday as Israel’s prime minister stressed security needs and a Palestinian negotiator denounced Israeli settlement buildin…
