Zika crisis pressures Vatican to soften contraception stance
RECIFE, Brazil (Reuters) – On the frontline of Brazil’s fight against Zika, Vandson Holanda sends Roman Catholic volunteers into the poorest areas of this city, showing residents how to protect themselves against mosquitoes that carry the virus linked …
Biden welcomes passage of Ukraine reforms in call with Poroshenko: White House
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, in a telephone call on Thursday, commended Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko on the passage of anti-corruption legislation sought by the International Monetary Fund and the European Union, the Wh…
Russian arms sale to Iran without approval would violate ban: U.S
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A reported sale of Russian combat aircraft to Iran would violate a U.N. arms embargo if it occurred without advance U.N. Security Council approval, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday.
Turkey blames Kurdish militants for Ankara bomb; vows reprisals
ANKARA/ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu blamed a Syrian Kurdish militia fighter working with Kurdish militants inside Turkey for a suicide car bombing that killed 28 people in the capital Ankara, and he vowed retaliation in b…
North Korea satellite tumbling in orbit again: U.S. sources
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – North Korea’s recently launched satellite is once again tumbling in orbit, after stabilizing briefly, according to a U.S. official and other sources.
Zimbabwe police fire water cannon to break-up war veteran protest
HARARE (Reuters) – Zimbabwean police on Thursday fired teargas and water cannon to disperse hundreds of war veterans planning a march on the ruling party’s headquarters, witnesses said, as factions tussle over who should succeed President Robert Mugabe…
Ivory Coast soldiers get life sentences for killing ex-president
(Reuters) – A military tribunal in Ivory Coast on Thursday sentenced three senior military officials to life in prison for the 2002 murder of former junta leader turned president Robert Guei, and handed out lesser terms to others.
U.N. aims to air drop food to IS-besieged city in eastern Syria
GENEVA (Reuters) – The United Nations plans to make its first air drops of food and other aid in Syria, to Deir al-Zor, an eastern city of 200,000 besieged by Islamic State militants, the chair of a U.N. humanitarian task force said on Thursday.
Egypt struggles to get subsidized food to poor amid dollar crisis
CAIRO (Reuters) – “Any rice?” says the woman, leaning into a shop in Cairo and brandishing a green smartcard that carries her family’s food credits. The shopkeeper shakes his head: “Only sugar.”
Palestinian teens stab, kill Israeli in West Bank supermarket
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Two Palestinian 14-year-olds stabbed and killed an Israeli in a packed supermarket in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, Israeli and Palestinian officials said, as a five-month wave of bloodshed shows no sign of abating.
