SOCHI, Russia May 16, 2013 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin will soon fly to work by helicopter rather than being driven there in his usual Mercedes limousine to try to appease anger over traffic jams created by his motorcade. A helicopter pad has been built in the Kremlin "and the president will use it at the first opportunity," presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in the Black Sea resort...

PARIS May 16, 2013 (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande called on Thursday for an economic government in the euro zone that would have its own budget, the right to issue debt, a harmonized tax system and a full-time president. Speaking at a news conference marking his first year in office, a day after economic data showed France had slipped back into recession, the Socialist leader...

BRASILIA May 16, 2013 (Reuters) - Legislation that President Dilma Rousseff says is vital to her efforts to modernize Brazil's clogged and costly ports cleared the lower chamber of Congress after a marathon debate and is expected to win Senate approval later on Thursday. The proposal is aimed at attracting greater private investment and reducing union control in Brazil's main ports, which have...

SEATTLE May 16, 2013(Reuters) - A military judge is expected to rule on Thursday whether a U.S. soldier who faces a likely life sentence for killing five fellow servicemen in a 2009 shooting spree in Iraq will ever be eligible for parole. In a deal that spared him the death penalty, U.S. Army Sergeant John Russell pleaded guilty last month to killing two medical staff officers and three soldiers...

Khartoum, May 16(SUNA)- President of the Republic, Field Marshal Omer Al-Bashir, chaired on Thursday in the Republican Palace the meeting of the Defense and National Security Council which reviewed reports on the security situation in the country presented by ministers and directors of the security organs. The Council was assured on the arrangements and efforts being exerted by the Armed Forces...

CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh May 16, 2013(Reuters) - Cyclone Mahasen buffeted Bangladesh's low-lying coast on Thursday, killing six people after forcing many thousands into emergency shelters, but authorities downgraded warnings later in the day as the storm lost strength. A storm surge did cause some flooding along the coast at high tide and thousands of rickety huts were destroyed by torrential...

Khartoum, May 16(SUNA)- President of the Republic, Field Marshal Omer Al-Bashir, Thursday received the Ambassador of France to Sudan, Patrick Nicoloso, at the Republican Palace on the occasion of the expiry of his assignment to Sudan. The French Ambassador expressed his pleasure over cooperation he found during his office term in Sudan. He said in a statement to SUNA that he discussed with President...

Khartoum, May 16 (SUNA)- The Armed Forces has described the allegation of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement on crossing of Chadian forces to the Sudanese border and their involvement in a grinding war with the Justice and Equality Movement as false and aimed for causing a media fuss to serve the rebellion interest. In a statement to SUNA, the spokesman of the Armed Forces, Col. Al-Sawarmi...

WASHINGTON May 16, 2013(Reuters) - The U.S. economy showed worrisome signs as jobless claims rose sharply last week while ground-breaking at home construction sites tumbled in April and a gauge of underlying inflation pointed to weak demand. The data could fuel fears over the impact of a government austerity drive that began in January, and could raise pressure on the Federal Reserve to keep...

JOHANNESBURG May 16, 2013(Reuters) - Miners at South Africa's Anglo American Platinum will strike from Thursday evening over proposed job cuts, a union official said, driving its shares lower and sending the rand to a four-year low. "The night shift today is not going underground, and also the day shift tomorrow is not going to work," said the branch official of the AMCU union, who did not want...