MOSCOW – Data released by Twitter shows that Russia nearly tripled its requests in the past six months to remove posts critical of the government. Twitter said in its report late on Monday that it received 89 removal requests in July-December from governmental agencies compared to 32 six months earlier …
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BRUSSELS – European Union lawmakers are demanding the immediate release from jail of a Saudi blogger sentenced to be flogged 50 times a week over several months for insulting Islam. The parliamentarians condemned Raif Badawi’s flogging as a “cruel and shocking act.” Thursday’s resolution was passed by 460 votes to …
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SANAA, Yemen – Supporters of Yemen’s former President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi have seized radio and television buildings in the southern city of Aden after they accused security forces of working for Shiite rebels who control the capital. Security officials say one soldier and two Hadi supporters were killed in …
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BUCHAREST, Romania – Romania’s president has named a political ally as head of the country’s intelligence service. President Klaus Iohannis on Thursday named Eduard Hellvig, a European Parliament lawmaker, to the position after the previous chief resigned criticizing the country’s top court for rejecting security laws that allowed the government …
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CAIRO – Amnesty International says Egypt’s military failed to take necessary precautions to avoid civilian casualties during airstrikes last week against what Cairo said were militant targets in Libya. Egypt launched the strikes following the beheadings of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians in the Libyan city of Sirte by militants affiliated …
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RABAT, Morocco – Morocco’s Interior Ministry has announced a ban on the import of drones and remote-controlled flying objects in general, citing security concerns. The statement Wednesday said the ban had taken effect two days earlier and was due to threats to security and property and the invasion of privacy. …
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VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis’ finance czar has defended the expenditures of his office following reports it had racked up a half-million euros ($575,000) in bills in the last six months. Australian Cardinal George Pell’s office has been insisting on a spending review elsewhere in the Vatican. A spokesman for …
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PESHAWAR, Pakistan – Authorities say a man in Pakistan, angered by a rejected marriage proposal to his cousin, has killed 10 members of his extended family after years earlier killing four others over it. Police officer Shahid Khan says the attack happened early Sunday in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in …
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ISLAMABAD – A senior government official in Pakistan says gunmen have attacked a dam construction site in southwestern Baluchistan province, killing at least 20 workers and wounding three. Commissioner Pasand Khan Buledi of Makran division says a large group of gunmen attacked a labor camp near the dam construction site …
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FRANKFURT, Germany – Europe’s economic outlook is finally beginning to brighten a little. But don’t expect European Central Bank head Mario Draghi to sound all that excited when he takes the stage Wednesday for his next news conference. Draghi will sound a little cautious in order to discourage any thought …
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