French penal reform extends probation to ease jail crowding
PARIS (Reuters) – France’s government said on Friday it would extend and reinforce the use of probation by law to ease overcrowding in prisons and fight repeat offences, drawing heckles from conservatives who say the move is soft on criminals.
UK says Snowden leaks hurt its national security, could expose spies
LONDON (Reuters) – Leaks by a fugitive U.S. intelligence contractor have damaged Britain’s national security, and the data he gave journalists includes information that might expose the identities of British spies, a government official told the High C…
Turkey says no doubt Assad’s forces behind poison gas attack
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Friday intelligence gathered by Ankara left no doubt that the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were responsible for a poison gas attack near Damascus last week.
South Africa’s waning gold industry braces for more strikes
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African gold miners plan to strike for higher pay from Tuesday, inflicting more damage on an industry that has produced a third of the bullion ever pulled from the earth but is now in rapid decline.
Ukraine leader says he has no power to pardon Tymoshenko
KIEV (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich said on Friday he had no legal powers to allow jailed rival Yulia Tymoshenko to go abroad for medical treatment as some European governments have urged, but hinted compromise might be found if the …
Saudi Arabia raises military alertness over Syria: sources
DOHA/CAIRO (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia, a supporter of rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad, has raised its level of military alertness in anticipation of a possible Western strike in Syria, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.
Insight: For U.N. inspectors in Syria, samples hold answers
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – With the world watching and a U.S.-led strike on hold, U.N. inspectors investigating suspected chemical attacks in Syria are under extreme pressure to make sure their findings stand up to the most intense scrutiny.
Britain advises against all but essential travel to Lebanon
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Britain has advised against all but essential travel to Lebanon, where bomb attacks in the northern city of Tripoli killed 42 people last week and as regional tensions grow over a possible U.S. military strike on Syria.
Lebanon charges five men over Tripoli mosque bombings
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanon on Friday charged five men, including a Sunni Muslim cleric close to the Syrian government, over bomb attacks on two mosques in the northern city of Tripoli last week that killed at least 42 people, judicial sources said.
Fledgling democracy could survive in crisis-hit Tunisia
TUNIS (Reuters) – Tunisia, birthplace of the Arab uprisings of 2011, is locked in a standoff between its Islamist-led government and secular opposition that could be decisive for the success of its experiment in democracy.
