Many Senate Democrats frustrated with slow U.S. Syrian refugee admissions
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – More than half the Democrats in the Senate, including many of President Barack Obama’s strongest supporters, signed a letter to him on Wednesday urging him to move more quickly to admit Syrian refugees into the United States.
Afghanistan signs draft accord with militant leader
KABUL (Reuters) – Afghanistan signed a draft agreement with the Hezb-e-Islami militant group on Wednesday in a move the government hopes could lead to a full peace accord with one of the most notorious warlords in the insurgency.
NATO urges candidate Macedonia to overcome political crisis
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – NATO’s secretary-general warned Macedonia on Wednesday not to let its political crisis wreck its hopes of joining the Atlantic alliance.
Citizens of Sanaa yearn for end to Yemen’s war
SANAA (Reuters) – Anxiety reigns in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, where ordinary people await the outcome of almost a month of peace talks they hope can end a devastating war.
Iraq’s Sadr pulls out forces from Baghdad districts hit by bombs
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Powerful Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has ordered his armed followers to withdraw from the streets of Baghdad districts that have been hit by deadly bombings claimed by Islamic State, an aide said on Wednesday.
Queen unveils British government’s reform agenda ahead of EU vote
LONDON (Reuters) – Queen Elizabeth unveiled plans by British Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday to overhaul prisons and help the poor under a social reform agenda he hopes to press after a referendum on European Union membership.
EU appeals to states as migrant moves 97 percent short of target
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – EU states virtually ignored a European Commission target for them to take in some 20,000 asylum seekers from Greece and Italy by mid-May, the bloc’s executive said on Wednesday, renewing a call for more action.
Thai officials deny bomb suspect beaten in custody
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thai officials on Wednesday denied that one of two ethnic Uighur Muslims from China accused of involvement in a deadly bombing in Thailand last year was beaten in custody.
Militant attacks force Bangladesh’s gay community into hiding
DHAKA (Reuters) – Weeks after suspected Islamist militants hacked Bangladesh’s most prominent gay rights activist to death in his apartment along with an associate, another friend received a chilling message that he was next in line.
‘Partial improvement’ in Turkish border town targeted by Islamic State: spokesman
ANKARA (Reuters) – The security situation in the Turkish border town of Kilis has improved partially, presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said on Wednesday, after months of rocket fire from Syria killed 21 people there so far this year.
