Vatican plays down expectations over women as deacons in Church
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – The Vatican played down on Friday expectations that Pope Francis might be ready to ordain women as deacons after he had raised hopes among liberal Catholics by promising to set up a commission to study the issue.
Italy ups migrant controls at Alpine pass to stop Austrian checks
ROME (Reuters) – Italy said on Friday it had deployed 110 more guards to keep migrants from traveling into Austria, after Vienna threatened to introduce tighter border controls that could have hurt trade.
Editors leave Russian media group over Kremlin pressure: source
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Three top editors from Russia’s RBC media group, whose reports about Vladimir Putin have irked the Kremlin, left their jobs on Friday with one source saying they were worried their managers were bowing to Kremlin pressure over their …
Women boxers punch through social taboos in Sudan
KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Sweat drips from Arafat Abkar’s brow as she dodges blows in an open-air arena in Khartoum’s searing summer heat. Wearing only shorts and a t-shirt, the 22-year-old draws crowds in a country where Muslim mores mean women’s boxing is…
Special Report: How Russia allowed homegrown radicals to go and fight in Syria
NOVOSASITLI, Russia (Reuters) – Four years ago, Saadu Sharapudinov was a wanted man in Russia. A member of an outlawed Islamist group, he was hiding in the forests of the North Caucasus, dodging patrols by paramilitary police and plotting a holy war ag…
EU border agency says migrant arrivals in Greece drop 90 percent
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The number of migrants arriving in Greece dropped 90 percent in April, the European Union border agency said on Friday, a sign that an agreement with Turkey to control traffic between the two countries is working.
China says hopes U.S., Vietnam ties benefit regional peace
BEIJING (Reuters) – China is happy to see Vietnam normalizing relations with the United States and hopes it benefits regional peace, China said on Friday as the United States considers lifting a three-decade-old arms embargo on Vietnam.
Insurgents kill 19 and capture dozens seizing Syrian Alawite village: Observatory
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Insurgents killed at least 19 civilians believed to be from families of fighters loyal to the Syrian government after capturing an Alawite village from government control in western Syria on Thursday, a monitoring group said.
Strict security gets stricter at rare North Korean congress
PYONGYANG (Reuters) – North Korea may be the world’s most closely controlled society, but security during a week when thousands of Workers’ Party delegates were in town along with 128 foreign journalists was even tighter than usual.
Insight: War on Islamist militants tests Tunisia’s young democracy
TUNIS (Reuters) – Four days after Islamist militants shot dead 21 tourists in Tunisia’s Bardo museum last year, police rounded up dozens of people suspected of links with the gunmen.
