Qatar readies new leadership, little policy change expected
DUBAI (Reuters) – Qatar appeared on Monday to be preparing its population for new leadership that could see the emir and prime minister step down, a step analysts say would not herald big changes in energy, investment or foreign policies.
Egypt steps up Gaza tunnel crackdown, dismaying Palestinians
GAZA (Reuters) – Egypt has intensified a crackdown on smuggling tunnels between its volatile Sinai desert and the Gaza Strip, causing a steep hike in petrol and cement prices in the Palestinian territory.
Italy’s Berlusconi faces verdict in underage sex trial
MILAN (Reuters) – Judges in a Milan court retired to consider their verdict on Monday in a trial in which former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is accused of paying for sex with a minor and abusing the powers of his office to cover it up.
Suicide bomber kills Iraqi counter-terrorism official
TIKRIT, Iraq (Reuters) – A suicide bomber wearing a vest packed with explosives killed an Iraqi counter-terrorism official on Monday as he left university in the city of Tikrit after sitting an exam, police said.
Conditions for Taliban talks not met yet: Kerry
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday that conditions for talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan had not been met yet, after a spat over a new Taliban office in Qatar threatened to derail peace negotiations.
EU ministers clash over reviving Turkish talks after protests
LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) – European Union ministers clashed over whether to revive membership talks with Turkey on Monday with several countries joining Germany in arguing it would send the wrong signal to reward Ankara after a crackdown on protests.
Man arrested over British family murder in French Alps
LONDON (Reuters) – Police in Britain have arrested a man on suspicion of conspiracy to murder a British family of Iraqi origin who were killed in a high-profile murder in southern France last year.
Pakistan PM backs treason charges against former president Musharraf
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) – Pakistan’s new government intends to put former military dictator Pervez Musharraf on trial on charges of high treason, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Monday, in a move likely to anger the country’s powerful armed f…
UK PM calls for probe into new claims on racist murder
LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister David Cameron called on Monday for an investigation into claims that police spied on the family of a black teenager whose murder 20 years ago exposed what an inquiry called “institutional racism” in London’s po…
Putin beefs up Kremlin control over economic policy
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed Andrei Belousov on Monday as his economic adviser, beefing up his Kremlin staff with an advocate of greater state action to revive the weak economy.
