Russia has granted a $1 billion loan to Bangladesh for the purchase of Russian-made weapons. The deal was signed Tuesday in Moscow during a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and visiting Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Details on the possible weapons purchases were not released, but reports say the new agreement could include orders […]
Russia Grants $1 Billion Loan to Bangladesh for Weapons
France Tightens Domestic Security after Mali Operation
France has increased its domestic security, due to concern about possible threats following the launch of French military action against al-Qaida linked rebels in Mali. In an interview with the French television network BHM, French Interior Minister Manuel Valls said the threat from terrorists angry over the intervention is not new, but is “serious” and […]
Italian Court Rejects Berlusconi Bid to Halt Sex Trial
An Italian court in Milan has rejected a request by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to suspend his sex scandal trial. Lawyers for Berlusconi argued that his role as leader of a center-right coalition standing in next month’s general election would be an impediment to the proceedings. Prosecutors have accused the defense of trying to […]
Thousands March in Russia to Protest Adoption Ban
Thousands of people marched through Moscow Sunday to protest a law banning Americans from adopting Russian children. Protesters carried posters with photographs of lawmakers who voted in favor of the law late last month. The word ‘shame’ was written across their portraits in red. The protest march, which was permitted by Russian authorities, was organized […]
Costa Concordia Remembered One Year After Sinking
Survivors of the Costa Concordia cruise ship and relatives of the 32 people who died are marking the first anniversary of the vessel’s grounding off the Italian island of Giglio. The group plans a full day of ceremonies Sunday, including the unveiling of memorials to the victims, a Mass in their honor and a minute […]
29 Officers Hurt in Northern Ireland Clashes
Twenty-nine police officers have been injured in the latest bout of rioting in Northern Ireland’s capital, Belfast, over limits to the flying of the British flag. Riot police used water cannon and fired six plastic bullet rounds at protesters who threw rocks and other objects at officers during the clashes in east Belfast Saturday. The […]
France’s Kurdish Community Mourn Slaying of Three Women
Hundreds of Kurds have gathered outside a Kurdish information center in Paris to mourn the loss of three women slain execution-style. French police discovered the bodies of the women inside the center on Thursday. One of the victims has been identified as Sakine Cansiz, a founding member of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. All […]
Austrian Neo-Nazi Sentenced to 9 Years
An Austrian court has convicted a well-known member of the far-right to nine years in prison for propagating Nazi ideology online, in violation of the country’s strict anti-Nazi laws. Gottfried Kuessel, who had been arrested in April 2011, was sentenced late Thursday in Vienna. Two convicted accomplices were given lesser sentences — seven years and […]
Erdogan: Kurdish Slayings Stem from Internal Dispute
Turkey’s prime minister says the killings of three Kurdish activists in Paris may have been the result of an internal feud. The bodies of the three women — one of them a founding member of a Kurdish group fighting for greater autonomy in Turkey — were found inside a Kurdish information center in Paris Thursday. […]