Blog

Verdict issued in Rezaian case, Iranian judiciary says

DUBAI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Iran’s judiciary said on Sunday that a ruling had been issued in the espionage trial of Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, but the newspaper said Tehran was working a political angle by not revealing details of the verdict. The July 2014 arrest of California-born Rezaian, the Post’s Tehran bureau chief, has been a sensitive issue for Washington and Iran, and Sunday’s announcement did little to resolve it.

South Africa plans to leave International Criminal Court

South Africa plans to leave the International Criminal Court (ICC), a deputy minister said on Sunday, as the government faces criticism for ignoring a court order to arrest Sudan’s president earlier this year. The ICC has “lost its direction” and the ruling African National Congress (ANC) wants to withdraw South Africa after following certain processes, Obed Bapela, deputy minister in the Presidency, told reporters after a ruling party policy meeting.

Putin meets Saudi defense minister amid differences over Syria

(Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin met Saudi Arabia’s defense minister on Sunday, in Moscow’s biggest attempt so far to reach out to enemies of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad since Russia joined the conflict with air strikes. Putin met Sheikh Mohammed bin Salman, a son of the Saudi king, on the sidelines of a Formula One race on Sunday, nearly two weeks since Moscow began bombing enemies of Assad, including

House conservative group would 'look favorably' on Ryan for speakership

By Jason Lange and Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A group of hard-line conservative Republicans would “look favorably” on Paul Ryan if he ran to be speaker of the House of Representatives, the group’s leader said on Sunday. The approximately 40-member House Freedom Caucus is at the center of turmoil within the Republican Party over who will be the party’s effective leader in the House ahead of the 2016 presidential