French cabinet is dissolved, a victim of austerity battles
PARIS — The collapse of the French government Monday exposed widening divisions both within France’s leadership, and Europe more broadly, over austerity policies that many now fault for threatening to tip the eurozone back into recession.
Nigeria blast kills dozens as militants hit capital
ABUJA, Nigeria — An explosion caused by a suspected car bomb tore through a crowded bus station in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, on Monday during the morning rush hour, and police said at least 71 people were killed and 124 wounded in one of the most lethal attacks to strike the country.
Prosecutor describes Pistorius as self-centered and bullying
After a day of intense courtroom confrontation and emotion, the athlete Oscar Pistorius returned to the stand for a fourth straight day on Thursday to face new questions from a dogged prosecutor intent on depicting him as narcissistic, self-centered and bullying, so intent on self-gratification that he ignored the feelings of the dead woman’s family.
Hundreds of police officers are reassigned in Turkey
PARIS — About 350 police officers in Ankara, the Turkish capital, were removed from their posts overnight, Turkish news outlets reported Tuesday, the largest single purge of the police force since a corruption investigation plunged the government into crisis last month.
Five are convicted in Kosovo organ-trafficking ring
PARIS — Five people were convicted Monday in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, in connection with an elaborate organ-trafficking network that lured poor people to the country and then sold their kidneys and other organs to wealthy transplant recipients from Israel, the United States, Canada and Germany, charging as much as $130,000 for each organ.
Hungary tests the European Union’s norms
For Hungary, still seeking national accord on what constitutes democracy, and for Europe, still uncertain how to treat governments deemed to have strayed from European Union norms, Monday produced a symbolic moment in the annals of protecting civil rights.
Former leader’s arrest in Ivory Coast ends four-month deadly standoff
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast — The strongman of Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbagbo, was captured and taken into custody by his rival Monday, ending a four-month standoff that left hundreds dead in this once-prosperous West African nation, put international diplomacy to a severe test, and ultimately dragged the country back into civil war.
Bosnia’s Serbs Threaten To Seek Independence
Bosnian Serb leaders have threatened to pull out of state institutions and are pressing anew for independence from Bosnia-Herzegovina, threatening to throw the fragile, multiethnic country into political crisis once again.
Georgian Press Sees Many Restrictions on Its Freedoms
The cameras at Georgia’s main opposition broadcaster, Imedi, kept rolling Nov. 7, when masked riot police officers, armed with machine guns, burst into the studio. They smashed equipment, ordered employees and television guests to lie on the floor and confiscated their cell phones. A news anchor remained on-screen throughout, describing the mayhem. Then all went black.
U.S. and Czechs Sign Accord on Ballistic Missile Shield
The United States and the Czech Republic signed a landmark accord on Tuesday to allow the Pentagon to deploy part of its widely debated anti-ballistic missile shield on territory once occupied by Soviet troops.
Dozens Hurt As Serbs Clash With NATO Peacekeepers in Kosovo
Serbs in the northern Kosovo city of Mitrovica fired weapons and threw grenades at international peacekeepers on Monday, wounding dozens of police officers and NATO troops. The clash was the worst violence since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on Feb. 17.
Serbian Protestors Set Fire To Unprotected U.S. Embassy
Demonstrators attacked the U.S. Embassy and set part of it ablaze on Thursday as tens of thousands of angry Serbs took to the streets of Belgrade to protest Kosovo’s declaration of independence.