DRC News Feed

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union criticised Russia's human rights record on Sunday, saying it was increasingly concerned at a wave of restrictive legislation and prosecutions against activists. The 27-nation bloc cited the cases of protesters arrested at a demonstration on the eve of President Vladimir Putin's inauguration last year who are still awaiting trial, and a new law requiring charities with funding from abroad to register as "foreign agents". ...

David Cameron is facing calls to deal with damaging rifts with Tory activists over Europe and gay marriage.

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Economy Minister Philipp Roesler said the European Commission made a "grave mistake" by agreeing to impose punitive import duties on solar panels from China and urged the Commission to work to prevent the eruption of a trade conflict. "It's a grave mistake," Roesler told Welt am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday. He said China already warned the duties on solar panels would harm bilateral trade. "That shows: punitive import duties are the wrong instrument. ...

By David Lewis BAMAKO (Reuters) - After winning adulation across Mali for a five-month military offensive that crushed al Qaeda fighters, France is now frustrating some of its allies by pushing for a political settlement with a separate group of Tuareg rebels. A standoff over how to restore Malian government authority to Kidal, the last town in the desert north yet to be brought under central control, is sowing resentment with Paris and could delay planned elections to restore democracy after a coup. ...

By Hamid Shalizi KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai plans to discuss potential arms deals with Indian officials during a trip to New Delhi this week, officials said, at a time when tensions are running high on Afghanistan's disputed border with Pakistan. Kabul's overtures to New Delhi are likely to rile Islamabad where a new government led by two-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif is set to take office soon, promising improved ties with India. ...

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's bank rescue fund will aim to sell Hellenic Postbank and Proton by mid-July with big banks continuing to absorb small lenders as part of plans to revive the battered sector, the country's foreign lenders said in an inspection review. Greece is recapitalising its four big banks and winding down others deemed non-viable to improve the sector's capacity to fund the economy out of a deep six-year recession. Banks suffered heavy losses from debt writedowns and bad loans. ...

By William Schomberg LONDON (Reuters) - Bank of England Governor Mervyn King has urged successor Mark Carney not to bring to Britain his trademark policy of spelling out how long interest rates will remain low. King also said the bank could not be run as "a one-man show," a sign of concern at high expectations that the arrival of the Canadian will lead to a quick fix for Britain's slow economy. In an interview with Sky News television broadcast on Sunday, King praised Carney, saying Britain was fortunate to have him. ...

KAIROUAN, Tunisia (Reuters) - Tunisian police fired teargas on Sunday at supporters of radical Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia who were throwing stones at officers in the central city of Kairouan, in protest that a rally there by the group was barred by the government. (Writing by Tarek Amara; Editing by Alison Williams)

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian police enraged by the kidnapping of seven of their colleagues by Islamist gunmen in the Sinai Peninsula blocked a commercial border crossing with Israel on Sunday, security sources said. Police have been blocking another border post, the Rafah crossing into the Gaza Strip, since Friday to press the government of Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi, who belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood, to help free the seven. ...

MPs are in line for a pay rise of up to £20,000 in a move that could spark public fury.

MPs are set to receive a pay rise of between £10,000 and £20,000 after an inquiry into their remuneration by Commons authorities.

PARIS (Reuters) - France is in talks with the United States and Israel to buy intelligence-gathering drones to build up a modern fleet, Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Sunday. France's existing hardware is outdated and its military intervention in Mali this year has exposed its shortage of surveillance drones suitable for modern warfare. The United States provided French commanders with intelligence from its drones based in Niger. "We need this capacity in the short term. ...

Labour's poll lead has started to rally after several weeks of Tory infighting over Europe.

By Jane Chung SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea fired a short-range missile from its east coast on Sunday, a day after launching three of these missiles, a South Korean news agency said, ignoring calls for restraint from Western powers. Launches by the North of short-range missiles are not uncommon but, after recent warnings from the communist state of impending nuclear war, such actions have raised concerns about the region's security. ...

MPs are in line for a dramatic pay rise of up to £20,000 in a move that could spark public fury.

By Sonya Dowsett MADRID (Reuters) - Many duped savers at Spanish lender Bankia are shunning a state-supervised compensation scheme in favour of expensive lawsuits, prolonging a mis-selling scandal and complicating efforts to restore faith in the banking system. The disputes over mis-selling at Bankia and other nationalised banks have created a major headache for the government as it tries to take the next step in their rescue, imposing large losses on holders of junior debt. ...

MOSCOW (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon voiced concern on Sunday over North Korea's launch of short-range missiles, urging Pyonyang to refrain from further launches and return to stalled nuclear talks with world powers. Ban, who spoke to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti during a visit to Moscow, called North Korea's launch of three short-range missiles from its east coast on Saturday a "provocative action". "We are very worried over North Korea's provocative action," he told RIA in comments translated into Russian. ...

LIMA (Reuters) - Proposed peace talks for Syria would not curb "terrorism" in the country and it is unrealistic to think they would succeed, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview published in an Argentine newspaper on Saturday. Speaking in Syria with the newspaper Clarin, Assad said he was doubtful that mediation the United States and Russia have proposed could settle a deadly conflict that has convulsed the country for two years. "There is confusion in the world between a political solution and terrorism. They think a political conference will halt terrorists in the country. ...

There were further examples of rampant racism in Ukip today, after a newspaper investigation uncovered even more offensive comments from local councillors

By William James LONDON (Reuters) - An independent Scotland would have a vastly oversized financial sector that would leave it vulnerable to a Cyprus-style banking crisis, Britain's finance ministry says. Before a referendum due in September 2014 on whether Scotland should split from the United Kingdom, the British government is analyzing the impact of independence on Scotland, which has a population of about 5 million. ...