U.S. sanctions brother of Iran’s Quds force commander: White House
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on Thursday sanctioned Sohrab Soleimani, the brother of the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, for his role in abuses in Iranian prisons.
Erdogan and Putin back investigation into Syria chemical attack
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Thursday to support an investigation by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons into the chemical weapons attack in Syria last week, Tur…
In historic referendum, Turkey’s Erdogan faces his biggest test
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Much like the vast mosque he has commissioned atop one of Istanbul’s highest hills, President Tayyip Erdogan’s supporters hope a referendum on Sunday will be a crowning achievement in his drive to reshape Turkey.
Brazil’s Temer calls $40 million Odebrecht bribe accusation ‘a lie’
BRASILIA/RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Brazil’s President Michel Temer denied on Thursday that he hosted a meeting in 2010 where an executive of engineering firm Odebrecht SA [ODBES.UL] was asked to arrange an illegal payment of $40 million to his politi…
Pope makes Easter visit to fortress prison holding ex-mafiosi
ROME (Reuters) – Pope Francis visited a fortress prison holding mafia turncoats on Thursday and again included a Muslim and women in a traditional Holy Week foot-washing ritual that previous popes had limited to Catholic men.
Former Afghan president calls decision to drop massive U.S. bomb ‘treason’
KABUL (Reuters) – Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai accused his successor on Saturday of committing treason by allowing the U.S. military to drop the largest conventional bomb ever used in combat during an operation against Islamic State militants i…
NATO deploys troops to Poland while concerns about country’s army rise
ORZYSZ, Poland (Reuters) – Poland on Thursday welcomed the first U.S. troops in a multi-national force which is being posted across the Baltic region to counter potential threats from Russia.
‘Be strong’: Iraqis wounded in Mosul try trauma counseling to cope
SOUTH OF MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) – Lying in a hospital bed, Iraqi student Ahmed Khalaf is close to despair after having lost a leg when rocket shrapnel hit him as he ran for his life from Islamic State (IS) militants in Mosul.
U.N. votes to close, replace Haiti peacekeeping mission
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously on Thursday to end its 13-year-long peacekeeping mission in Haiti and replace it with a smaller police, which would be drawn down after two years as the country boosts its…
Venezuela opposition seeks to strain security forces with protests
CARACAS/MARACAIBO, Venezuela (Reuters) – Venezuela’s opposition was rallying across the nation on Thursday as part of a bid to strain security forces by staging anti-government protests in each of the volatile country’s 335 municipalities.
