SKOPJE, Macedonia – Macedonian prosecutors have filed charges against the country’s main opposition leader and former intelligence officials for alleged wiretapping following a scandal that has poisoned politics in the small Balkan country for months. Zoran Zaev is accused of “violence against the representatives of the highest state institutions.” If …
Read More »Nigeria's military says it's battling a vicious tribal militia, denies troops killed civilians
LAGOS, Nigeria – Nigeria’s military says it is battling audacious tribal militias in central Nigeria and denies charges by community leaders that its troops have killed dozens of civilians. A statement Monday from the Defense Ministry spokesman, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, said militias engaged troops during weekend raids by the …
Read More »Report: Iran releases Maersk cargo vessel seized last month over legal dispute
TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s official IRNA news agency is reporting that the Iranian government has released a Marshal Islands-flagged cargo ship today. According to a Thursday report by the agency, a source in the Iranian Ports and Maritime Organization says that the organization will issue a statement later in the …
Read More »Typhoon slams into north tip of Philippines; 2,500 evacuated
MANILA, Philippines – A powerful typhoon slammed into the northeastern tip of the Philippines on Sunday, as about 2,500 residents in two provinces huddled in shelters following warnings by officials to evacuate coastal and mountainous villages. Typhoon Noul, packing winds of 115 miles per hour and gusts of up to …
Read More »Israeli parliament approves expanded number of ministers in boost to Prime Minister Netanyahu
JERUSALEM – Israel’s parliament has approved a contentious legislation that expands the number of government ministers — clearing the way for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government to take office. Wednesday’s vote rolled back reforms made by the previous government that limited the number of ministers to 18. Proponents said …
Read More »Vienna's gay-themed pedestrian traffic lights to remain permanent fixture in Austrian capital
VIENNA – Vienna’s gay-themed pedestrian traffic lights are here to stay. Instead of the usual stick man, the lights show couples — a man and a woman, two women or two men. Set up recently at 47 crossings, they were to be taken down in June, after the end of …
Read More »French farmer goes on trial accused of gunning down man suspected of stealing truffles
PARIS – A French farmer is on trial for killing a suspected truffle thief with two blasts from a pump-action shotgun. Laurent Rambaud, 37, told police he was guarding his truffle patch around nightfall Dec. 20, 2010 when he was surprised by a man and a dog. Saying he feared …
Read More »Paris doctors strike over cost-saving working hours reform on fears of burnout
PARIS – Thousands of doctors, nurses and other hospital personnel are demonstrating in central Paris to protest planned working-hours changes they say will result in more burnout and worse patient care. Technicians in white lab coats and nurses wearing green scrubs gathered in the street outside the headquarters of Paris’ …
Read More »Child sex abuse claims shake UN as revelations continue; top officials didn't know for months
UNITED NATIONS – The boys said they approached the French soldiers because they were hungry. Some were so young that they didn’t quite understand the acts the soldiers demanded in return. One boy, 8 or 9 years old, said he did it several times to the same soldier, “until one …
Read More »Indian rescuers drill through rubble to reach workers trapped in collapsed tunnel
Rescuers in northern India supplied food and medicine to 40 construction workers on Thursday as officials started drilling through the rubble to reach the men who have been trapped since a portion of the tunnel they were working on collapsed over the weekend. Rescuers planned to insert wide steel pipes …
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