Use of air power in Afghanistan up sharply as Trump troop decision looms
KABUL (Reuters) – U.S. warplanes dropped more weapons on Afghanistan in April than in any other single month since 2012, according to new statistics, as military officials press U.S. President Donald Trump to send thousands more troops to the country.
Macron government denies ethical misstep by minister
PARIS (Reuters) – A morality campaign by France’s new government took a knock on Wednesday when media disclosed that a minister had rented business offices from his female partner, though the government defended him and said there was no cause for resi…
Kenyan flour shortage stokes anger ahead of election
NAIROBI (Reuters) – A Kenyan government scheme to subsidize staple maize flour has hit problems over shortages, stoking anger over high food prices ahead of a national election in August.
Trump budget proposal would make it ‘impossible’ for U.N. to work
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s bid to slash funding for the United Nations would make it “impossible” for it to continue its essential work, a spokesman said on Wednesday, adding that the organization was ready to discuss refo…
Barricades, protests spread over Venezuela ‘sham’ elections
CARACAS (Reuters) – Angry Venezuelans barricaded streets in parts of Caracas and the opposition geared up for another protest on Wednesday as the announcement of two election dates failed to appease anger against President Nicolas Maduro and an economy…
Iraq orders investigation into abuses reported in Mosul battle
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq’s interior minister on Wednesday ordered an investigation into allegations that members of the security forces had tortured, killed and abused civilians in the campaign to oust Islamic State militants from Mosul.
Pope asks Trump to be peacemaker, gives him environmental letter
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis urged U.S. President Donald Trump to be a peacemaker at their first meeting on Wednesday after they exchanged sharp words last year, and Trump promised he would not forget the pontiff’s message.
China says no one should bring chaos to Korean peninsula
BEIJING (Reuters) – China said on Wednesday no one had the right to bring chaos to the Korean peninsula, a day after it pushed for full implementation of U.N. sanctions against neighboring North Korea for its missile and nuclear tests and called for di…
More than 30 migrants, mostly toddlers, drown off Libya: rescuers
ROME (Reuters) – More than 30 migrants, mostly toddlers, drowned on Wednesday when about 200 people without life jackets fell from a boat into the sea off the Libyan coast before they could be hauled into waiting rescue boats.
Trump tells Duterte of two U.S. nuclear subs in Korean waters: NYT
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – In a call last month with the Philippines’ president, U.S. President Donald Trump described North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un as a “madman with nuclear weapons” who could not be let on the loose, according to a leaked Philippine t…
