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• Ammunition Fire Rages at Russian Military Base
  Exploding shells set off a fire that was triggering explosions Wednesday at a military depot in southern Russia, injuring about 30 people and causing the evacuation of more than 6,000 from a nearby village, investigators and emergency workers said.
• Italian Designers Dolce and Gabbana Convicted of Tax Evasion
  Fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana were handed a 20-month suspended prison sentence and a heavy fine on Wednesday for hiding hundreds of millions of euros from the Italian tax authorities.
• Obama in Berlin, Calls for Huge Cuts in Nuclear Arsenal
  President Barack Obama used a speech in Berlin on Wednesday to call on Russia to revive the push for a world without nuclear arms by agreeing to target further reductions of up to one third of deployed nuclear weapons.
• Iceland: 'Informal Talks' About Snowden Asylum
  A WikiLeaks spokesman who claims to represent Edward Snowden has reached out to government officials in Iceland about the potential of the NSA leaker applying for asylum in the Nordic country, officials there said Wednesday.
• Turkey's 'Standing Man' to Join Ranks of Icons?
  The image was stark: a silent, solitary figure standing in passive defiance to the Turkish prime minister's demand for protesters to clear Taksim Square in central Istanbul. The challenge by performance artist Erdem Gunduz may enter the gallery of well-known symbols of protest.
• Iceland Approached Over Snowden Seeking Asylum
  Iceland has received an informal approach from an intermediary who says Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who exposed the U.S. government's secret surveillance programs, wants to seek asylum there.
• Turkish Police Arrest Dozens, Erdogan Defends Security
  Police raided addresses across Turkey on Tuesday and detained dozens of people in an operation linked to three weeks of often violent protests against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.
• Striking Workers Face off With Police in Turkish Capital
  Turkish riot police backed by water cannon faced off with about 1,000 trade union workers in the capital Ankara on Monday, after a weekend of some of the worst clashes since anti-government protests erupted late last month.
• Obama, Putin Spar Over Syria Arms at G8 Summit
  Western leaders criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin for supporting Syria's Bashar al-Assad in his battle to crush a two-year-old uprising, setting the stage for a difficult meeting of world leaders over Monday and Tuesday.
• Swiss President Doubts Snowden's CIA Stories
  Swiss President Ueli Maurer said on Sunday he doubted Edward Snowden's claims about his activities as a CIA man in Geneva and would back a criminal investigation into the secrets leaker if Swiss prosecutors called for one.
• Report: German Spy Service Plans More Online Surveillance
  Germany's foreign intelligence service plans a major expansion of Internet surveillance despite deep unease over revelations of U.S. online spying, Der Spiegel news weekly reported Sunday.
• France Condemns Attack on Chinese Students in Famed Wine Region
  France's interior minister has condemned as racist an assault on six Chinese students by drunken locals in the Bordeaux wine-producing region that left one student seriously injured.
• Turkish Police Crack Down on Revival of Protests
  Riot police with water cannons and tear gas are hitting protesters who remain defiant after authorities evicted activists from an Istanbul park.
• Pope Blesses Hundreds of Harley Davidsons
  Pope Francis on Sunday blessed thousands of Harley Davidsons and their riders as the American motorcycle manufacturer celebrated its 110th anniversary with a loud parade and plenty of leather.
• Britain Moves on Tax Dodgers Ahead of Summit
  Britain turned up the pressure on other rich economies to clamp down on secretive money flows at a summit next week by pressing its overseas tax havens into a transparency deal and announcing new disclosure rules for British firms.
• Defiant Protesters Staying Put in Istanbul Park
  Turkish protesters said on Saturday they would not leave an Istanbul park despite a call from the president for them to withdraw and a pledge from Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan to hold a vote on plans to redevelop the site.
• Pope Taps Trusted Prelate to Oversee Vatican Bank
  Pope Francis has taken his first major step in reforming the troubled Vatican bank by tapping a trusted prelate to oversee its management.
• Syria Dominates G8 Talks as Anti-Poverty Activists Gather
  Thousands of protesters were due on the streets of Belfast Saturday to urge G8 leaders to act on global poverty at their upcoming summit, expected to be dominated by talks on Syria.
• Turkish Leader Makes Conciliatory Move to End Protests
  Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told protesters on Friday he would put redevelopment plans for an Istanbul park on hold until a court rules, striking a markedly more conciliatory tone after two weeks of fierce anti-government demonstrations.
• Anti-G8 Activists Rally in London Banking District
  About 100 activists rallied in the shadow of London's Canary Wharf financial district on Friday, encircled by police, in a protest against capitalism before next week's G8 summit in the United Kingdom.
• U.K. Asks Airlines to Block NSA Leaker Snowden
  Britain has asked airlines worldwide to block American Edward Snowden, who leaked details of U.S. government telephone and internet surveillance programs, from boarding any plane headed for the United Kingdom.
• Greeks Strike Over State TV Closure; PM Offers Talks
  Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras moved to defuse a political crisis over the government's abrupt closure of state broadcaster ERT that prompted a nationwide strike on Thursday and brought thousands into the streets in protest.
• Putin: Russia Can't Raise State Spending Forever
  Russia cannot afford to keep raising state spending, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday, but it must find the money to fulfill the social commitments he made on his return to the Kremlin last year.
• Turkish Protesters Party in Square Despite Ruling Party Call
  Hundreds of anti-government demonstrators chanted and sang in Istanbul's Taksim Square early on Thursday after Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's AK party floated the offer of a referendum on development plans that stirred two weeks of protests.
• France Exhibit Glorifies Palestinian Suicide Bombers
  A state-funded museum in Paris is causing outrage among France's Jewish community for a photo exhibit that calls Palestinian suicide bombers "martyrs."

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