TRNOVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina – A United Arab Emirate’s construction company says it wants to build a luxury resort worth 2.3 billion euro ($2.6 billion) on a mountain near Sarajevo — a ski resort where three decades ago the Winter Olympics were held. The mayor of the municipality of Trnovo, Ibro Berilo, …
Read More »Before key Minsk summit, French gov't warns 'problems remain' in talks to end Ukraine fighting
PARIS – The French foreign minister says “quite a number of problems remain” in negotiations aimed at ending fighting in eastern Ukraine. Laurent Fabius told France Inter radio that just hours before a four-way summit Wednesday in Minsk, Belarus, it was “very probable” but not certain that French President Francois …
Read More »Iceland Fraud Case: Former Kaupthing bankers receive prison sentence for market manipulation
REYKJAVIK, Iceland – Iceland’s Supreme Court has upheld prison sentences for four Kaupthing bank executives, the heaviest sentences for financial fraud in Iceland’s history, for their role in the nation’s devastating 2008 financial collapse. The court Thursday rejected their appeals. The four executives were convicted of market manipulation that took …
Read More »Myanmar refugees flee to China to escape fighting between militants and government troops
BEIJING – Tens of thousands of refugees from Myanmar’s ethnic region of Kokang have fled into the neighboring Chinese province of Yunnan over the past week amid fighting between militants and government troops. Citing government officials, the state-owned news site Yunnan.cn reported Monday that there have been 30,000 border crossings …
Read More »Online campaign raises tens of thousands for funeral of Toronto toddler who wandered from home
TORONTO – The heartbreaking story of a three-year-old boy who died after wandering away from a Toronto apartment into the bitter cold is prompting an outpouring of generosity. Elijah Marsh walked out of the building early Thursday morning and was found about six hours later in the corner of a …
Read More »Brazilian judge suspends auctions of luxury cars, yacht belonging to ex-billionaire
RIO DE JANEIRO – A judge has suspended auctions of big-ticket assets belonging to Eike Batista, the business magnate who once was Brazil’s richest man and now faces charges of insider trading and market manipulation. Federal Judge Messod Azulay ordered the postponement of auctions scheduled for this week and early …
Read More »New legislation allows migrants living illegally in Puerto Rico to open bank accounts
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Puerto Rico’s governor has signed a bill that allows migrants living without legal permission in the U.S. territory to open bank accounts and order checks. Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla said Thursday that the law will give migrants financial stability. He said they can use a …
Read More »Gunmen kill 3 police officers in Iran near border with Iraq
TEHRAN, Iran – Iranian state TV says gunmen have killed three police officers in southern Iran near the Iraqi border. Press TV says the shooting took place Thursday morning in the town of Hamidiyeh, some 550 kilometers (340 miles) southwest of the capital Tehran. It quotes a local police chief …
Read More »US Embassy in Qatar says guard assaulted, attacker in custody
DOHA, Qatar – The U.S. State Department says an embassy guard in Qatar has been lightly wounded in an assault. In a statement it says that the guard received “superficial injuries” from the assault on Thursday and that the attacker has been taken into custody by Qatari authorities. The statement …
Read More »Migrant workers set fire to cars, equipment in northern Emirates after death of co-worker
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Newspapers in the United Arab Emirates say migrant laborers set multiple vehicles on fire during a weekend protest at a construction site in the north of the country following the death of one of their co-workers. The National and Khaleej Times dailies were among the …
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