German minister seeks answers from UK over spying ‘catastrophe’
BERLIN (Reuters) – Britain’s European partners will seek urgent clarification from London about whether a British spy agency has tapped international telephone and Internet traffic on a massive scale, Germany’s justice minister said on Saturday.
European hostages in North Africa still alive: al Qaeda
DAKAR (Reuters) – Eight European hostages, including five from France, being held by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) are safe, the Islamist group said in a statement posted on its Twitter account on Saturday.
German, Turkish ministers meet as tension over EU entry rises
DOHA (Reuters) – Germany and Turkey’s foreign ministers met on Saturday for an “intensive exchange of opinions” in a row over Angela Merkel’s criticism of a crackdown on protesters in Turkey and her reluctance to see the country join the European Union…
UK opposition says would not borrow to reverse cuts
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s opposition Labour Party would not borrow more money to reverse spending cuts by Prime Minister David Cameron’s coalition government should it win the next election due in 2015, its leader Ed Miliband said on Saturday.
Tens of thousands march in Rome against unemployment
ROME (Reuters) – Thousands of workers and unemployed people marched in Rome on Saturday to protest against record unemployment and call on Enrico Letta’s two-month-old government to deliver more than empty rhetoric on the issue.
Afghanistan urges Pakistan to free Taliban prisoners if it wants peace
KABUL (Reuters) – Pakistan could secure peace in Afghanistan by releasing dozens of senior Taliban prisoners to help kick-start the process, the Afghan foreign ministry said on Saturday, in remarks that underscore the issues vexing peace talks in Qatar…
Russian rights group evicted from Moscow office
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Authorities forcibly evicted a prominent Russian human rights organization from its office in the early hours of Saturday in a raid its director said he believed was ordered by officials in President Vladimir Putin’s administration.
Over 1.5 million foreign workers change status before Saudi crackdown
RIYADH (Reuters) – More than 1.5 million foreign workers in Saudi Arabia have changed their residence status since April ahead of a planned crackdown on illegally registered expatriates in the world’s leading oil exporter, the labour ministry said on S…
Nelson Mandela remains in ‘serious but stable’ condition: government
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Former South African president Nelson Mandela remains in a “serious but stable” condition in hospital, the government said on Saturday.
Hamas executes two Palestinians convicted of spying for Israel
GAZA (Reuters) – Hamas leaders said they had hanged two Palestinians found guilty of spying for Israel over a decade, making them the first to be executed since the end of a month-long amnesty for informants in April.
