Pope arrives in Colombia to help heal wounds of 50-year war
BOGOTA (Reuters) – Pope Francis arrived in Colombia on Wednesday with a message of unity for a nation deeply divided by a peace deal that ended a five-decade war with Marxist FARC rebels but left many victims of the bloodshed wary of the fraught healin…
Ex-minister accuses former Brazil president Lula of accepting bribes
BRASILIA (Reuters) – The former finance minister under Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday accused the ex-president of receiving bribes from contractor Odebrecht [ODBES.UL], adding to a list of corruption accusations that threaten Lula’s ab…
Britain’s May calls on lawmakers to back bill, move closer to Brexit
LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Theresa May called on parliament on Thursday to support legislation to sever political, financial and legal ties with the European Union, a step toward Brexit the opposition says it will challenge.
Catalonia parliament votes for Oct. 1 referendum on split from Spain
MADRID (Reuters) – Catalonia’s parliament voted on Wednesday to hold an independence referendum on Oct. 1, setting up a clash with the Spanish government that has vowed to stop what it says would be an illegal vote.
Holocaust survivors rock Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate with song of hope
BERLIN (Reuters) – Two aging Holocaust survivors joined forces with a younger Israeli singer to perform songs of hope at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate on Wednesday at a time when Germany is seeing a rise in anti-Semitism.
Catalan parliament approves law to call referendum on independence
MADRID (Reuters) – Catalonia’s parliament on Wednesday passed a law to make formal its plans for an Oct. 1 referendum on whether to declare independence from Spain, a vote that the central government says is illegal and that it will stop.
Trump seeks tougher sanctions to prod North Korea into negotiations
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – With no palatable military options, U.S. President Donald Trump may ultimately have no choice but to give diplomacy a chance to end the crisis over North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.
Trump says U.S. not ‘putting up with’ North Korea’s actions
WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) – President Donald Trump warned on Wednesday that the United States would no longer tolerate North Korea’s actions but said the use of military force against Pyongyang will not be his “first choice.”
Hurricane Irma lashes Caribbean, Florida braces for hit
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Reuters) – Potentially catastrophic Hurricane Irma clobbered Caribbean islands with pounding winds, rain and surging surf on Wednesday as officials in Florida called for evacuations ahead of the storm’s expected landfall there th…
U.S. to send 3,500 additional troops to Afghanistan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States will send about 3,500 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, a figure broadly in line with expectations as the United States boosts support for the Afghan military.
