| British played central role in foiled bomb operation: sources Posted:  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - British intelligence played a central role in the undercover operation to foil an underwear bomb plot involving al Qaeda's Yemeni offshoot, counterterrorism sources told Reuters. The undercover informant in the plot linked to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, was a British citizen, possibly of Saudi origin, the sources said on condition of anonymity. The informant was working in cooperation with Britain's two principal spy agencies. U.S. ...
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| Syria suicide bombers kill 55, ceasefire in tatters Posted:  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Two suicide car bombers killed 55 people and wounded 372 in Damascus on Thursday, state media said, the deadliest attacks in the Syrian capital since an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began 14 months ago. The blasts further shredded a ceasefire that was declared by international mediator Kofi Annan on April 12 but that has failed to halt bloodshed pitting Assad's security forces against peaceful demonstrators and an array of armed insurgents. Opposition leaders said Annan's peace plan was dead, while Western powers insisted it remained the best way forward. ...
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| Coalition hopes in doubt as Greek parties meet Posted:  ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos meets conservative Antonis Samaras on Friday in a possibly doomed attempt to form a government and avoid a repeat election, while EU leaders are warning that Greece's membership of the euro is at stake. Voters enraged by record unemployment and a deep recession punished both the Socialists and conservatives - the only two parties backing an EU/IMF bailout - in an election on Sunday, backing smaller parties that reject the wage cuts and tax hikes required in return for international aid. ...
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| British PM faces scrutiny over ties to Murdoch Posted:  LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron faces potentially embarrassing scrutiny of his ties to Rupert Murdoch on Friday when Rebekah Brooks, a former top lieutenant in the tycoon's media empire, appears at an inquiry into press standards. Brooks, once editor of the News of the World tabloid at the heart of the phone hacking scandal, is expected to be grilled about her ties with Cameron, who was eager to secure the support of Murdoch's newspapers ahead of the 2010 national election. ...
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| U.S. official doubts Iran can find alternative to cenbank Posted: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top U.S. Treasury official said on Thursday that he was skeptical that Iran could find an alternative payment system to its central bank, which is the target of U.S. sanctions aimed at depriving Tehran of funds needed to develop its nuclear program. "It's fair to say that we are going to be very skeptical about efforts to develop alternative payment methods," David Cohen, Treasury's Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said at an event in Washington. ... |
| Spain gov't to approve banks cleanup after tough talks Posted:  MADRID (Reuters) - Spain is expected to present new reforms to complete the clean-up of its banks on Friday after difficult last-minute talks between the government and lenders. At its weekly cabinet meeting, the government will approve a plan to force banks to park their toxic real estate assets in holding companies that would later sell them off. The cabinet is also expected to announce demands for the banks to set aside a further 35 billion euros ($45 billion) to cover sound loans in their real estate portfolios. ...
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| Chavez rival struggles to close gap in Venezuela race Posted:  CARACAS (Reuters) - On a heady night in mid-February, Henrique Capriles roared himself hoarse with optimism at his victory rally in Caracas after trouncing rivals to win the Venezuelan opposition's presidential ticket. Three months later, despite an exhausting "house-by-house" tour intended to galvanize the nation behind him, Capriles remains firmly stuck behind President Hugo Chavez in most polls. In some, he has even slipped since his campaign began. ...
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| U.N. says three Libya prisoners likely tortured to death Posted: UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Several prisoners likely were tortured to death at a detention center in Libya under government control, the United Nations said on Thursday as it urged the country to make stamping out such practices a top priority. Libya's Justice Ministry has control of 31 detention centers with some 3,000 detainees, but about 4,000 prisoners are still in the custody of Libyan revolutionary brigades, U.N. special envoy for Libya Ian Martin told the U.N. Security Council. ... |
| Promise of reform meets skepticism in Algeria vote Posted:  ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algerians voted on Thursday in an election the ruling elite says will set the country, left behind by the "Arab Spring", on the road to real democracy, though many people were skeptical about the promises of reform. Election results were not due until Friday afternoon, but Interior Minister Daho Ould Kablia said on state television that final turnout was 42.9 percent, higher than the near-record low many people had been predicting. ...
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| Twin car bombs in Syrian capital kill dozens Posted:  Twin suicide car bombs exploded outside a military intelligence building and killed 55 people Thursday, tossing mangled bodies in the street in the deadliest attack against a regime target since the Syrian uprising began 14 months ago.
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| Bomb plot raises questions over European security Posted:  A shimmy toward the body scanner, a step into the booth and a wave of the arms — routine procedure now at U.S. airports, but not necessarily in Europe.
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| Hopes rise for Greece power-sharing talks Posted:  Hopes rose slightly Thursday that Greece could end its post-electoral deadlock without having to hold new elections, as international partners warned that Athens must stick to its hugely unpopular austerity program or abandon the euro.
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| Tsipras says Greek euro exit bad for Europe Posted: The head of Greece's Radical Left Coalition says a Greek exit from the euro would damage both the country and Europe, but insists the austerity measures imposed by international creditors are too harsh and must be changed. |
| Putin's reason for skipping US summit puzzles Posted:  The Kremlin on Thursday explained President Vladimir Putin's surprising decision to skip a planned high-profile visit to the United States next week by saying he needs to finish setting up his new government. Although this may sound like a lame excuse, it could actually be true. Or not.
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| Russia says it foiled terrorist plot against Sochi Posted:  Russia claimed it has foiled a plot to attack the host city of Sochi both before and during the 2014 Winter Olympics, saying its agents discovered caches of weapons that included grenade launchers and surface-to-air missiles.
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| Russian jet crash puts Indonesian sales in limbo Posted:  The crash of a new, Russian-made jetliner into a jagged, Indonesian volcano during a flight to impress potential buyers threw doubt on dozens of plane sales Thursday just as Moscow seeks a comeback in foreign markets. All 45 people aboard were feared dead.
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| PM's ex-aide denies he was hired for Murdoch ties Posted:  The secretive spin doctor who helped bring Prime Minister David Cameron to power made a rare public appearance Thursday at Britain's media ethics inquiry — denying that he got the job to boost Cameron's clout with Rupert Murdoch's powerful media empire.
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| Yemen airstrikes, raids kill 17 al-Qaida militants Posted:  Two airstrikes Thursday in south Yemen killed seven al-Qaida militants, including two top operatives, officials said. Yemeni soldiers, meanwhile, shelled a gathering of al-Qaida fighters elsewhere in the south, killing 10 militants.
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| Suicide attackers kill 5 in eastern Afghanistan Posted: Taliban militants dressed in police uniforms blew themselves up after being caught trying to sneak through a checkpoint Thursday in eastern Afghanistan, killing five people, authorities said. |
