| Greek socialist makes last-ditch attempt at government Posted:  ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos will make a last- ditch attempt to form a government on Thursday and avoid a new election after voters rejected a bailout deal and pushed Greece into a political crisis. Chances are slim Venizelos can clinch a deal after both the conservatives and leftists tried and failed to cobble together a coalition in three days of talks following Sunday's election, when voters spurned big parties and their austerity policies. ...
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| University of Washington offers fellowship to blind China dissident Posted:  SEATTLE (Reuters) - The University of Washington has offered a fellowship to blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng, who has said that he wants to study in the United States following his dramatic escape from house arrest. The move follows a similar invitation extended by New York University as Chen waits for approval to travel to the United States under a deal struck between the Obama administration and Beijing. The 40-year-old activist took refuge in the U.S. ...
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| Syria rebels kill 7, bomb explodes near U.N. monitors Posted: AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian rebels killed at least seven pro-government militiamen in a Damascus suburb on Wednesday, activists said, and an explosion wounded eight soldiers escorting U.N. ceasefire observers in the southern province of Deraa. The Damascus attack with rocket-propelled grenades on a bus carrying the fighters through the suburb of Irbin prompted the army to seal off the area and respond with shelling, activist Mohammad Saeed said. ... |
| Putin promises a strong Russia, opponents jailed Posted:  MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin promised to project Russia's might on the world stage in a rallying speech on Wednesday to troops and war veterans celebrating victory over Nazi Germany at a military parade bristling with weapons on Red Square. Two days after starting his six-year term, Putin, flanked by military chiefs and his defense and prime ministers, used the address to reinforce appeals for national unity as he tries to reassert his authority, shaken by months of protests. ...
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| U.S. study finds North Korea info controls weakening Posted:  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More and more North Koreans are defying strict government controls on access to outside information that starkly contrasts with official propaganda, said a U.S. study released Wednesday. Avid consumption of South Korean movies and pop music as well as foreign radio and television broadcasts is changing North Korean views of its southern neighbor and even of the United States, a report by the InterMedia consultancy showed. ...
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| Skepticism the main challenger in Algeria election Posted:  ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria votes on Thursday in a parliamentary election its rulers hope will deflect pressure for change after the "Arab Spring" upheavals, but many people will show their skepticism by abstaining. Last year's revolts in the region left Algeria largely untouched, but it is now under pressure to reform and renew the ageing establishment that has ruled the country without interruption since independence from France half a century ago. ...
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| Missiles kill eight militants in Yemen: residents Posted: ADEN (Reuters) - Missile strikes killed eight militants early on Thursday outside a town in southern Yemen which is a stronghold of al Qaeda-linked insurgents fighting government forces for more than a year, residents said. The strikes near the town of Jaar appeared to have been launched from the sea and some senior militants were believed to be among the dead, the residents told Reuters. Government officials could not be immediately reached. ... |
| Search resumes in Indonesia for missing Russian plane Posted:  BOGOR, Indonesia (Reuters) - Rescuers resumed searching a mountain area south of the Indonesian capital at first light on Thursday for a Russian Sukhoi plane with 50 people on board that went missing during a demonstration flight and is presumed crashed. Radio contact with Russia's first all-new passenger jet since the fall of the Soviet Union was lost at about 0800 GMT on Wednesday after it descended to 6,000 feet around Mount Salak, a volcano 7,254 feet above sea level, officials said. The Superjet 100 plane was carrying Indonesian businessmen, Russian embassy officials and journalists. ...
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| Fifteen people beheaded in Mexico, drug gang suspected Posted:  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Police found the decapitated and dismembered bodies of 15 people near Mexico's second city Guadalajara on Wednesday, in what appeared to be the latest atrocity by the country's most brutal drug cartel. Believed to have been carried out by the Zetas gang, it was one of the biggest mass beheadings in the recent history of Mexico, where decapitations have become alarmingly common. ...
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| Al-Qaida leader: Avenge Afghan Quran burning Posted: Al-Qaida's leader has urged Muslims to take revenge for the February burning of Quran Muslim holy books at a U.S. air base in Afghanistan. |
| Russian opposition leaders sentenced to jail Posted:  Two of Russia's most prominent opposition leaders were sentenced Wednesday to 15 days in jail, while several dozen opposition activists who tried to stage a "people's stroll" through the city reportedly were detained.
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| New Israeli coalition confronts first challenge Posted:  A controversial practice that has allowed tens of thousands of young ultra-Orthodox men to avoid compulsory military service has emerged as a looming test for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new coalition government — and one that could create major mayhem in the Jewish state.
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| Blast near UN car shows fragility of Syria truce Posted:  A roadside bomb hit a Syrian military truck Wednesday just seconds after the head of the U.N. observer team drove by in a convoy, demonstrating the fragility of the international plan to end the country's bloodshed.
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| Greek socialist leader: No coalition deal yet Posted:  Greek socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos said Wednesday there has been no success so far in negotiations to form a coalition government after weekend elections resulted in a deadlock.
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| Russian plane with 50 aboard missing in Indonesia Posted:  A new Russian-made civilian plane carrying 50 people went missing in Indonesia while flying over mountains Wednesday during a demonstration flight for potential buyers and journalists, officials said.
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| Europe at the crossroads: splinter or unite Posted:  The European Union, a hope for peace that rose from the fires of World War II, paused Wednesday to honor its past and ponder its future — and how it can ensure it still has one in light of the anti-austerity anger expressed this week by voters in France and Greece.
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| Euro 2012 a political headache for Ukraine Posted:  The June Euro 2012 football championship was Ukraine's chance to shine: forge closer ties with the West, boost its international standing and aid its struggling economy.
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| Tymoshenko ends hunger strike in Ukraine Posted:  Yulia Tymoshenko ended a nearly three-week long hunger strike Wednesday as the imprisoned former Ukrainian prime minister was moved from jail to a hospital for treatment of a severe back condition under the supervision of a German doctor.
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| 9 jailed in racially sensitive UK sex ring case Posted:  Nine men in northwest England were sentenced to jail Wednesday for luring girls as young as 13 into sex using alcohol and drugs — a case that has stirred racial tensions and sparked claims that U.K. authorities are failing to protect children in state care.
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