Politics World News Headlines

By Andrew Osborn and Maria Golovnina ENNISKILLEN, Northern Ireland (Reuters) - Russia's Vladimir Putin derailed Barack Obama's efforts to win backing for the downfall of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad at a G8 summit on Tuesday, warning the West that arms supplied to the rebels could be used for attacks on European soil. …

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Some 6,000 people were evacuated in Russia's southwestern Samara region on Tuesday after ammunition explosions shook a military training area, the Emergencies Ministry said. The ministry said five explosions initially took place at the site on Tuesday evening, triggering a fire that was still causing …

ROME (Reuters) - An Italian court sentenced a man to life imprisonment on Tuesday for the murder of 16-year-old Melissa Bassi, who died when a homemade bomb exploded outside her school in the southern city of Brindisi in May last year. Giovanni Vantaggiato, 69, confessed to building and placing the bomb in a rubbish container …

By Todd Benson SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Tuesday sought to defuse a massive protest movement sweeping the country, acknowledging the need for better public services and more responsive governance at all levels. Speaking the morning after an estimated 200,000 Brazilians marched in more than …

BERLIN (AP) — President Barack Obama is opening a 24-hour visit to Germany, the culmination of which will be a speech Wednesday at Berlin's iconic Brandenburg Gate.

By Dan Williams JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The Palestinian administration in the West Bank has tried to help the latest U.S. peacemaking drive by quietly cutting off funds for grassroots campaigners against Israel's occupation of the territory, a senior Israeli general said on Tuesday. The allegation, which the campaigners contested, …

ENNISKILLEN, Northern Ireland (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande on Tuesday opened the door to Iran attending a Syria peace conference, but reiterated that there was no future for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Global leaders called for the so-called Geneva 2 talks to be held as soon as possible to end the …

ABUJA (Reuters) - A French sailor was freed on Tuesday after being captured by pirates last week from his ship off the coast of Togo and taken to Nigeria, a military commander said. Pirates attacked the oil products tanker Adour on June 13, around 30 nautical miles off the coast of Togo. General Bata Dembiro, a commander …

PARIS (Reuters) - The trial of French football stars Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema over claims they paid for sex with an underage call girl was adjourned for procedural reasons on Tuesday until 2014. Benzema, a Real Madrid striker, and Ribery, a Bayern Munich winger, are to be tried on charges of paying Zahia Dehar, a …

LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigerian authorities dropped charges on Tuesday against eight Russian sailors suspected of trafficking arms, their lawyer said, but another seven will face trial. The 15 Russian sailors were charged with illegally bringing weapons into Nigeria last year, after Nigerian authorities intercepted a ship on …

By Zahra Hosseinian and Marcus George DUBAI (Reuters) - Tehran's streets were filled with young revelers for the second time in four days on Tuesday after the Iranian national soccer team qualified for the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil with a win over South Korea. "I feel like God is answering all of our prayers at once," …

By Gavin Jones ROME (Reuters) - It's a hot, sunny day in June on the beautiful Mediterranean island of Sicily, but the problem is that I'm not on the beach, I'm running up a volcano. An even bigger problem is that I've been going for two hours, but I'm only half way to the top and I'm tired. This is Mount Etna, at 3,330 …

By Jibran Ahmad PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed 30 people, including a provincial legislator, gathered for the funeral of a businessman in northern Pakistan on Tuesday, police said. Legislator Imran Mohmand, formerly associated with an anti-Taliban party, was elected as an independent in May but joined …

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said on Tuesday the massive protests that have swept the country in recent weeks represent legitimate calls for better public services and more responsive governance at all levels. Speaking the morning after hundreds of thousands of Brazilians marched through more …

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's top court said on Tuesday it had ordered a re-run of the Meredith Kercher murder trial because the acquittal of American Amanda Knox and her ex-boyfriend contained "shortcomings, contradictions and inconsistencies". Knox and Italian Raffaele Sollecito were initially found guilty of killing the 21-year-old …

ENNISKILLEN, Northern Ireland (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking after two days of tense G8 talks on Syria, said on Tuesday he did not feel isolated at the summit despite clashing with leaders on how to resolve Syria's civil war. The Kremlin leader also renewed his criticism of U.S. plans to send weapons …

ENNISKILLEN, Northern Ireland (Reuters) - A communique by the Group of Eight nations calling for an end to the fighting in Syria on Tuesday represents a real shift by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Tuesday. "We have a very different outcome and much better outcome than I …

By Steve Gutterman MOSCOW (Reuters) - Iran has taken constructive steps toward compromise in the decade-old standoff over its nuclear program and world powers should reciprocate, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in remarks published on Tuesday. Iranians elected a new moderate president, Hassan Rohani, on Friday …

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia has begun delivering tanks, artillery cannons and rocket launchers worth $1 billion to Azerbaijan, a Moscow-based defense group said on Tuesday, as the former Soviet republic strengthens its military readiness in the volatile South Caucasus. Oil- and gas-producing Azerbaijan, where President Ilham …

By Padraic Halpin DUBLIN (Reuters) - U.S.-based Royalty Pharma has dropped a hostile bid worth up to $8 billion for Elan , leaving the Irish drug maker free to seek other suitors having put itself up for sale last week. Royalty on Tuesday withdrew its appeal against a ruling by Ireland's regulator on takeovers, meaning …

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian officials have opened a criminal investigation into a deputy head of state-controlled airline Aeroflot on suspicion that he abused his position by selling cheap tickets to travel agents linked to his family. President Vladimir Putin, keen to stop foreign investment capital draining out of Russia, …

ENNISKILLEN, Northern Ireland (Reuters) - Russia blocked any mention of the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a final G8 summit communiqué, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters on Tuesday. Ryabkov said G8 leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama …

ENNISKILLEN, Northern Ireland (AP) — Hunting for a glimmer of common ground, the leaders of major economic powers are declaring themselves dedicated to a political solution to Syria's bloody civil war, even as President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin stake out diametrically opposite stands on which side …