U.N. chemical weapons team in Turkey to investigate Syria claims
AMSTERDAM/ANKARA (Reuters) – U.N.-appointed inspectors, blocked from entering Syria, are in Turkey to gather information about possible use of chemical weapons in the civil war, officials said on Thursday.
Polish PM faces challenge for party leadership: report
WARSAW (Reuters) – A former Polish justice minister will challenge Prime Minister Donald Tusk for leadership of their party in an internal election later this year, broadcaster TVN24 reported on Thursday.
Tribal clashes kill dozens near gold mine in Sudan’s Darfur
KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Fighting between two Arab tribes vying for control of a gold mine has killed dozens of people in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region, a tribal leader and local media said on Thursday.
Ethnic Albanian protesters clash with police in Kosovo
PRISTINA (Reuters) – Hundreds of ethnic Albanians protesting against normalizing ties with neighboring Serbia clashed with riot police in front of the government and parliament buildings in Kosovo’s capital on Thursday, a Reuters witness said.
Confrontation over the South China Sea ‘doomed’, China tells claimants
BEIJING (Reuters) – Countries with territorial claims in the South China Sea that look for help from third parties will find their efforts “futile”, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned on Thursday, adding that the path of confrontation would be “do…
Report to find UK shale resources bigger than thought: source
LONDON (Reuters) – Shale resources in the north of England could be much larger than previously thought, raising the prospect of new domestic gas supplies to replace dwindling North Sea reserves, a government source said on Thursday.
Insight: Kuwaitis campaign privately to arm Syrian rebels
KUWAIT (Reuters) – At a traditional evening meeting known as a “diwaniya”, Kuwaiti men drop banknotes into a box, opening a campaign to arm up to 12,000 anti-government fighters in Syria. A new Mercedes is parked outside to be auctioned off for cash.
Manila plans air, naval bases at Subic with access for U.S., officials say
MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippine military has revived plans to build new air and naval bases at Subic Bay, a former U.S. naval base that American forces could use to counter China’s creeping presence in the disputed South China Sea, senior navy offici…
In crisis-hit Athens, plans for a mosque reveal deep divisions
ATHENS (Reuters) – Pakistani taxi driver Muhammad Zafeer says he has to look over his shoulder when he goes to pray in Athens, where racist attackers have targeted several of the many makeshift mosques set up in cramped garages or dingy warehouses.
U.S. cyber leaker Snowden sits tight in Moscow transit
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden was believed to still be at a Moscow airport on Thursday and officials said he had not booked a flight out despite pressure from Russian President Vladimir Putin to leave.
