ABU DHABI (Reuters) - A Bahraini princess who works as a police officer is on trial for torturing two doctors while they were in detention during political unrest in the Gulf Arab kingdom in 2011, according to a senior official at Bahrain's Public Prosecutor's office. Sheikha Noura bint Ibrahim al-Khalifa is also facing a separate trial for physically assaulting Aayat al-Qormozi, a young female Shi'ite opposition activist, while she was in detention during the same period, Nawaf Hamza, head of the Public Prosecution's Special Investigation Unit, told Reuters. ...
WASHINGTON (AP) — Wounded former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords will appear as an unscheduled witness Wednesday at the year's first congressional hearing on curbing gun violence, adding drama to a session that was already slated to hear from a top official of the National Rifle Association.
ROME (Reuters) - Naples residents were left stranded at bus stops across Italy's third biggest city on Wednesday as the public transport operator, hit by government spending cuts, ran out of fuel. "Due to a lack of fuel our services are not guaranteed," transport operator ANM announced on its website and at bus stops around the city, enraging commuters. "Can someone tell me if the C27 is going to show up? I have to get into the center," Luana Pisano wrote on ANM's Facebook page. Several residents demanded a refund for their season tickets. ...
ISMAILIA, Egypt (Reuters) - The nightly curfew in Ismailia, one of three Egyptian cities where a state of emergency was declared this week, has been cut to three hours from the nine hours originally imposed, the governor said on Wednesday. Governor Gamal Imbaby, a former general, told reporters the new times for the curfew, which has been routinely defied since it came into effect on Monday, would be 2 a.m. (0000 GMT) to 5 a.m. (0300 GMT) instead of 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A report revealing the U.S. economy contracted in the fourth quarter shows Congress needs to take steps to avert a series of automatic spending cuts slated to take effect in March, said Alan Krueger, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, on Wednesday. "Today's report is a reminder of the importance of the need for Congress to act to avoid self-inflicted wounds to the economy," said Krueger in a blog post shortly after the release of new government data on gross domestic product. There are other economic indicators that suggest the U.S. ...
KABUL (Reuters) - With a scarf loosely covering a fancy television hairstyle, Latifa Azizi raised her arms in victory after surviving another elimination round on the hit talent show, "Afghan Star". But the victory pales into insignificance when compared with the larger battle 17-year-old Azizi is fighting - to pursue her dream of becoming a famous singer despite the censure of ultra-conservative Afghan society. ...
KUWAIT (Reuters) - Donors pledged more than $1 billion at an international aid conference in Kuwait on Wednesday for Syrians displaced by nearly two years of fighting, a Kuwaiti minister said in remarks carried by the state news agency KUNA. Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah al-Mubarak al-Sabah told reporters he hoped the total pledges would reach the target of $1.5 billion set by the United Nations by the end of the meeting later in the day. (Reporting by Raissa Kasolowsky writing by Sami Aboudi)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Wounded former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords will appear as an unscheduled witness Wednesday at the year's first congressional hearing on curbing gun violence, adding drama to a session that was already slated to hear from a top official of the National Rifle Association.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. John McCain is warning fellow Republicans that failure to pass comprehensive immigration legislation could mean continued election losses for the GOP, as Republican-friendly states like Arizona fall to the Democrats.
By MICHAEL FALCONE (@michaelpfalcone) NOTABLES TODAY ON THE HILL — GIFFORDS, KELLY AND LAPIERRE Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, her astronaut husband Mark Kelly, and Wayne LaPierre, the fiery executive vice president and CEO of the National Rifle Association testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee today in...
DUBAI (Reuters) - At an economic summit of Arab leaders in Riyadh last week, Saudi Arabia's crown prince called for a minimum 50 percent increase in the capital of a fund that lends money for development projects around the region. Prince Salman, next in line to the Saudi throne, said the kingdom was ready to pay its share in any expansion of the Kuwait-based Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, now capitalized at 2 billion Kuwaiti dinars ($7.1 billion). ...
WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee says closing loopholes in the background check system for gun purchasers won't threaten firearms owners' Second Amendment rights to own a gun and is a matter of common sense.
CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's liberal opposition leader called for a broad national dialogue with the Islamist government, all political factions and the powerful military on Wednesday, aimed at stopping the country's eruption of political violence that has left more than 60 dead the past week.
PARIS (Reuters) - Mali's interim government in Bamako must begin immediate talks with the country's northern population including armed groups that recognize the territorial integrity of the West African state, France said on Wednesday. "The Malian authorities must begin without delay talks with the legitimate representatives of the northern population and non-terrorist armed groups that recognize Mali's integrity," French Foreign ministry spokesman Philippe Lalliot said. ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Representative Gabby Giffords, grievously wounded in a 2011 mass shooting, will make an appearance on Wednesday at the first congressional hearing on gun violence since last month's Connecticut elementary school massacre. According to a senior Democratic aide and a person familiar with the proceedings, Giffords will testify at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. ...
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The two top contenders and their running mates in Kenya's presidential race, including two politicians facing crimes against humanity charges at an international court, have been officially registered by Kenya's electoral authority.
SIENA, Italy (Reuters) - Italy's market regulator Consob joined the government and the Bank of Italy on Wednesday in defending its oversight of Monte Paschi as magistrates investigated allegations of bribery and accounting malpractice at the historic bank. Italy's third-largest lender has been plunged into crisis over an opaque series of derivatives and structured finance deals that have produced losses of 720 million euros ($970 million) and raised growing questions about possible corruption by bank officials. ...
