Would-be suicide bomber sheds light on suspected Pakistani militant web
SHIKARPUR, Pakistan – The confession of a Pakistani teenager who was captured moments before carrying out a suicide attack has given police a rare glimpse into a militant network they say is behind the recent surge in sectarian violence.
Saudi Arabia still sees no role for Assad in Syrian transition
DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia, a main backer of Syrian rebels, said on Sunday it still supported an international agreement on the future of Syria and President Bashar al-Assad should have no role in any transition to bring the war there to an end.
Syria investigator del Ponte quits, blaming U.N. Security Council
GENEVA (Reuters) – A member of the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Syria said on Sunday she was quitting because a lack of political backing from the U.N. Security Council had made the job impossible, Swiss national news agency SDA reported.
Brazil’s House speaker sees no need to weaken pension overhaul: media
BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s Congress should not water down a proposal to change pension rules in order to have it approved in coming months, House Speaker Rodrigo Maia said in separate newspaper interviews published on Sunday.
ASEAN overcomes communique impasse, urges non-militarisation in South China Sea
MANILA (Reuters) – Southeast Asian foreign ministers ended an impasse on Sunday over how to address disputes with China in the South China Sea, issuing a communique that called for militarization to be avoided and noting concern about island-building.
Elections in Kurdish-led areas will not divide Syria: minister
DAMASCUS (Reuters) – A senior Syrian government minister on Sunday dismissed as a “joke” plans by the Kurdish-led administration in northern Syria to hold elections and said they would not be allowed to threaten the country’s territorial unity.
Kabul ‘Green Zone’ tightened after attacks in Afghan capital
KABUL (Reuters) – Afghan authorities are tightening security in the central area of Kabul housing foreign embassies and government offices after a string of suicide attacks that have caused hundreds of casualties and hit confidence in the Western-backe…
Israel moves to shut down local operations of Al Jazeera
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel plans to revoke the media credentials of Al Jazeera TV journalists, close its Jerusalem bureau and pull the Qatar-based station’s broadcasts from local cable and satellite providers, Communications Minister Ayoub Kara said …
Venezuela quells attack on military base, two killed
VALENCIA/CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) – Venezuelan authorities quelled an attack on a military base near the city of Valencia by soldiers and armed civilians on Sunday, killing two of them in a dramatic escalation of unrest in the protest-convulsed Sou…
German state premier on defensive over close ties with VW
BERLIN (Reuters) – The government of Germany’s Lower Saxony on Sunday denied a newspaper report that its premier softened speeches critical of Volkswagen in the diesel emissions scandal at the company’s request.
