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Russian sports minister apologizes over doping, pleads for Rio entry: Sunday Times
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko has issued a plea for Russia’s athletes to be allowed to compete in the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games and apologized for the “deceptive” sportsmen caught doping in the past in an article he wrote for Britain’s Sunday Times.

Kerry meets Saudi king to discuss Syria before Vienna talks
JEDDAH (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met Saudi Arabia’s King Salman in Jeddah on Sunday to discuss the fragile truce in Syria, before broader talks with Russia, Iran and other countries in Vienna on Tuesday.

Netanyahu tells France’s Ayrault he still opposes peace conference
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told France’s foreign minister on Sunday that Israel remained opposed to a French initiative for an international conference to try revive peace talks.

Beijing blasts Pentagon report on Chinese military as damaging trust
BEIJING (Reuters) – China condemned the U.S. Defense Department’s annual report on the Chinese military on Sunday, calling it deliberate distortion that has “severely damaged” mutual trust.

China asks Britain for advice on creating financial super-regulator
HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) – China has asked Britain for advice on plans to create a financial super-regulator, as it looks to improve financial oversight following last year’s stock market crash, sources with knowledge of the talks told Reuters.

Can Buffett-backed bid unlock Yahoo growth where others failed?
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Warren Buffett struck media gold with a 2012 investment in debt-laden Media General Inc. Now the famed investor may try to reprise that success by supporting a bid for Yahoo Inc’s Internet assets.

Chicago mayor to replace police review board with more independent watchdog
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel plans to scrap a police review board and replace it with a more independent and better-funded watchdog to investigate police shootings and other misconduct cases, he wrote in a newspaper column.

Brazil rebuffs Latin American leftists over Rousseff suspension
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Brazil’s interim government dismissed criticism by leftist countries in Latin America, including Venezuela, Cuba and Bolivia, over the impeachment process of Dilma Rousseff, who was suspended as president by the senate.

Syrian forces retake Deir al-Zor hospital after ‘major’ Islamic State offensive
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian government forces retook a hospital in Deir al-Zor after Islamic State attacked it on Saturday following a dawn offensive by the militants on the besieged eastern Syrian city, a war monitor and state media said.

UK’s Cameron struggles to make Britons believe his EU message: poll
LONDON (Reuters) – Prime Minister David Cameron is struggling to convince voters he is telling the truth about why Britain should stay in the European Union and his main “Out” rival Boris Johnson is doing a better job, an opinion poll found.

Trump has a history of questionable behavior with women: NY Times
(Reuters) – Interviews with dozens of women who have worked for Donald Trump or interacted with him socially reveal a pattern of often unsettling personal behavior by the Republican presidential candidate, The New York Times reported on Saturday.

Dissidents in Turkey’s nationalist opposition blame AKP for legal limbo
ANKARA (Reuters) – Dissidents in Turkey’s nationalist opposition accused the government on Saturday of interfering in an internal party dispute that could end up jeopardizing President Tayyip Erdogan’s plans for more power.

Exclusive: Warren Buffett, Quicken Loans founder in Yahoo bid – sources
(Reuters) – Berkshire Hathaway Inc Chairman Warren Buffett is backing a consortium vying for Yahoo Inc’s internet assets that includes Quicken Loans Inc founder Dan Gilbert, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.

German government plans to spend 93.6 billion euros on refugees by end 2020: Spiegel
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s government expects to spend around 93.6 billion euros by the end of 2020 on costs related to the refugee crisis, a magazine said on Saturday, citing a draft from the federal finance ministry for negotiations with the country’s 16 states.

Hezbollah says ‘takfiri groups’ behind commander’s death in Syria: Al Manar TV
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanese Shi’ite group Hezbollah said on Saturday “takfiri groups” were responsible for a blast which killed the group’s top military commander Mustafa Badreddine.

Venezuela president declares emergency, cites U.S., domestic ‘threats’
CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro declared a 60-day state of emergency on Friday due to what he called plots from within the OPEC country and the United States to topple his leftist government.

S&P seen failing in reach for year-old record
NEW YORK (Reuters) – As the anniversary of the S&P 500’s high mark approaches, the benchmark U.S. stock index’s latest rally has stalled and failed to breach a key level, prompting some calls for sell-offs, at least in the short term.

Ex-Argentine leader Fernandez indicted in central bank case
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Former Argentine President Cristina Fernandez was indicted on Friday over accusations that she oversaw irregularities in the central bank’s sale of U.S. dollars in the futures market while she was in office.

Top U.S. auctioneers refused to sell gun from Trayvon Martin shooting
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Two of America’s leading auctioneers of guns said they refused on ethical grounds to handle the sale of the 9 mm pistol that George Zimmerman used to kill unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin.

U.S. sees China boosting military presence after island-building spree
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – China is expected to add substantial military infrastructure, including surveillance systems, to artificial islands in the South China Sea this year, giving it long-term “civil-military bases” in the contested waters, the Pentagon said on Friday.

For Iran and Hezbollah, a costly week in Syria
BEIRUT (Reuters) – A rebel onslaught on the town of Khan Touman near Aleppo last week delivered one of the biggest battlefield setbacks yet to the coalition of foreign Shi’ite fighters waging war on behalf of Syrian President Bashar al Assad.

Air Force general becomes first woman to lead combatant command
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Air Force General Lori Robinson took charge of the U.S. military’s Northern Command on Friday, becoming the first woman to head a U.S. combatant command.

U.S. court rejects bid to make full Senate ‘torture report’ public
(Reuters) – A federal appeals court on Friday rejected a lawsuit calling for the full release a U.S. Senate report detailing the Central Intelligence Agency’s interrogation and detention program following the Sept. 11 attacks.