Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg has issued a fresh warning about the drastic consequences of Greece leaving the euro for Britain and slammed the "piecemeal" response of EU leaders to the crisis. More »Clegg: Euro Break-Up Would Harm Britain
The US company SpaceX on Thursday prepared for the climax of its Dragon capsule's landmark mission to the International Space Station with a high-stakes bid to latch on to the orbiting research lab. More »SpaceX readies space station rendezvous
KUWAIT (Reuters) - Kuwait's Finance Minister Mustapha al-Shamali resigned on Thursday after a questioning session led by opposition lawmakers over alleged financial irregularities in departments he oversees. The 69-year-old Finance Ministry veteran repeatedly had denied allegations of mismanagement on his watch. His resignation marked fresh political discord between the government and parliament, which was only elected three months ago. ... More »Kuwait finmin resigns after push by opposition
MONACO (Reuters) - Mercedes hinted at progress on Thursday in talks to secure their long-term future in Formula One. More »Mercedes see progress in F1 contract talks
Eurozone tensions rose Thursday after grim news on the economic outlook and as investors sought safety in Germany on growing doubts over Greece's future in the currency union. More »Eurozone strains intensify as 'massive shock' looms
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's government and opposition parties edged closer on Thursday towards a compromise deal that would pave the way for parliamentary approval of Europe's new fiscal pact and permanent bailout fund. The opposition Social Democrats (SDP) also appeared to give ground on their insistence on euro bonds to tackle the euro zone's debt crisis, a day after Chancellor Angela Merkel reaffirmed her opposition to them at a summit in Brussels. ... More »German parties make progress on fiscal pact deal
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - BG Group Plc. plans to spend at least $30 billion (19.16 billion pounds) to expand oil and natural gas output in Brazil by 2025, an investment expected to provide the British energy company with about a third of its future worldwide output, a top BG executive in Brazil told Reuters. The investment estimate would fund BG's share of Brazilian oil ventures with Brazil's state-led Petrobras , Spain's Repsol and two Portuguese companies, Galp Energia SGPS and Partex Oil and Gas, said Henrique Rzezinski, corporate affairs vice president at BG's Brazil unit. ... More »BG to spend $30 billion on Brazil offshore oil by 2025
The Vatican Bank ousted its president on Thursday after he failed to clean up the image of an institution that has come to symbolise the opacity and scandal gripping the Holy See's administration. More »Vatican Bank head ousted as Holy See fights scandal
Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will travel overseas next week for the first time in more than two decades to attend an economic forum in Bangkok, her party said on Thursday. More »Suu Kyi to make first foreign trip since 1988
GENEVA/BEIRUT (Reuters) - A U.N. investigation on Thursday said both sides in the Syrian conflict had committed serious human rights abuses, with government forces executing entire families in their homes and rebels torturing and killing soldiers and government supporters. The United Nations report into the 14-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad said government forces routinely drew up lists of wanted people and their families before blockading then attacking a village or neighbourhood. ... More »Both sides in Syria abuse human rights - U.N. report
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Support for President Vladimir Putin is sliding across Russia, and pressure for change is so widespread that a political crisis including violent clashes with protesters appears highly likely, a respected think-tank said on Thursday. Putin was elected comfortably to a third, six-year term as president in March, despite huge urban protests last winter against alleged election fraud and the monopoly on power that he and his United Russia party enjoy. ... More »Putin's support sliding, crisis ahead - think-tank
Violent race riots that shook south Tel Aviv overnight sparked shock in Israel on Thursday, but also prompted top-level calls for the immediate arrest and expulsion of tens of thousands of African migrants. More »Tel Aviv race riot flags bitter immigration dispute
Iran and six world powers closed two days of "very intense" nuclear talks Thursday with little to show except an agreement to meet again next month in Moscow after sharp disagreements over the way forward. More »Iran, world powers agree Moscow meet, little else
Kuwait's Finance Minister Mustafa al-Shamali resigned on Thursday following a marathon grilling in which opposition MPs accused him of wide-ranging financial irregularities. More »Kuwait's finance minister quits after grilling
ROME (Reuters) - Italy must prepare itself for the possibility of Greece leaving the euro zone, though it aims to avoid that happening, Italy's Deputy Economy Minister Vittorio Grilli said on Thursday. "We always have to be ready in any case," Grilli said when asked by reporters on the sidelines of a business conference if Italy was preparing for a Greek exit. "All options are possible though our objective is to avoid that happening," he said. ... More »Italy must be ready for Greek euro exit -minister
ROME (Reuters) - European Central Bank President Mario Draghi on Thursday called on governments to take a "courageous leap" of political imagination to safeguard the future of the euro zone. In a speech in Rome, Draghi said it would take time for the full benefits of the ECB's cheap three year loans to banks to be seen, and now the onus was on banks, and especially governments, to take their own decisive action. "We are living a crucial moment in the history of the EU," Draghi said in the Italian version of his speech. ... More »Draghi urges govts to take "courageous leap" to save euro
ROME (Reuters) - In Greece, conservative leader Antonio Samaras insisted on calling an election earlier this month that slashed his own party's share of the vote and set the country down a path that could see it crashing out of the euro. In Italy, politicians led by scandal-plagued premier Silvio Berlusconi were forced to admit they could not handle a crisis that brought the country close to financial catastrophe last year and handed over to technocrat Mario Monti to save the day. ... More »Why are Greek and Italian politicians so bad?
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders, advised by senior officials to prepare contingency plans in case Greece decides to quit the single currency, urged the country to stay the course on austerity and complete the reforms demanded under its bailout programme. After nearly six hours of talks held during an informal dinner, leaders said they were committed to Greece remaining in the euro zone, but it had to stick to its side of the bargain too, a commitment that will mean a heavy cost for Greeks. ... More »EU urges Greece to stay in euro, but plans for possible exit
DAKAR (Reuters) - The leader of al Qaeda's North African wing has put his group's fighters in Mali's north at the disposal of Ansar Dine rebels seeking to impose Islamic law across the West African state, the first public comments officially linking to two groups. Fighters should impose sharia only gradually and look to collaborate, not clash, with separatist rebels also operating in Mali's north, the head of AQIM said in speech posted on the internet and translated by the SITE jihadist monitoring service. ... More »Qaeda leader tells fighters to support Mali rebels
ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Syria would need $11.5 billion (7.3 billion pounds) in reconstruction funds in the first six months after the collapse of President Bashar al-Assad's rule, mainly to support its currency and pay public sector wages, the main Syrian opposition said on Thursday. The Syrian National Council, whose international support has been undermined by internal squabbling and power struggles, presented an economic reconstruction plan at a meeting of the Friends of Syria working group for economic recovery and development in the United Arab Emirates. ... More »Syria would need $11.5 billion quickly post-Assad
TUNIS (Reuters) - The lawyer of Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali denied on Thursday that the deposed Tunisian leader had given orders to fire on protesters during last year's revolution and condemned a Tunisian prosecutor's calls for the death penalty. A Tunisian military prosecutor demanded on Wednesday that the death penalty be imposed in absentia on Ben Ali over his role in the deaths of protesters in the central towns where the Arab Spring began last year. ... More »Exiled Tunisian leader denies role in protester deaths - lawyer
Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is to be awarded an honorary doctorate by Britain's prestigious Oxford University, her alma mater announced Thursday. More »Aung San Suu Kyi to receive honorary Oxford doctorate
CHARDON, Ohio (Reuters) - Suspected Ohio high school shooter T.J. Lane will be charged as an adult for the killings of three students in February and should not be released from jail on bail, an Ohio judge ruled on Thursday. Geauga County Judge Timothy Grendell made the ruling after a hearing. If convicted as an adult, the 17-year-old could be sentenced to life in prison. He would not face the death penalty. A Geauga County sheriff's deputy testified Thursday that Lane told him shortly after the killings that he had aimed for the victim's heads because, "I didn't want them to suffer. ... More »Accused Ohio high school shooter to be charged as adult
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday praised the "Arab Spring" popular revolutions in the Middle East but said instability and violence often precede greater respect for human rights. In its annual survey of human rights around the world, the State Department also recognized Myanmar for freeing opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest and for starting to open up its political system after decades of repression. ... More »U.S. praises Arab Spring but warns of instability
LONDON (Reuters) - A Scotland Yard team is to fly to Libya to investigate the murder of police officer Yvonne Fletcher, who was shot dead outside the Libyan embassy in London in 1984, Prime Minister David Cameron said on Thursday. Fletcher, 25, died after being hit by a shot fired from the embassy during a demonstration against former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. After an 11-day siege, 30 Libyans in the embassy were deported and no one was ever charged with her killing. Cameron told reporters the police team visit was a "really positive step forward. ... More »UK police head for Libya to probe 1984 murder