Assad holds parliamentary election as Syrian peace talks resume
DAMASCUS (Reuters) – Syrians voted in a parliamentary election in government-held areas of the country on Wednesday in what they called a show of support for President Bashar al-Assad, while his opponents and Western powers denounced the poll as illegi…
U.N. begins round of Syria peace talks in Geneva
GENEVA (Reuters) – U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura began a new round of Syria talks on Wednesday by meeting members of the main opposition High Negotiations Committee in Geneva.
Spanish judge denies bail for former top banker Mario Conde
MADRID (Reuters) – A Spanish judge remanded former top banker Mario Conde in custody on Wednesday after he was arrested on suspicion of money laundering 13 million euros ($14.66 million) as he oversaw the collapse of one of Spain’s biggest banks.
Parents say identify Chibok girls missing 2 years in Boko Haram video
ABUJA, Nigeria (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Three mothers of schoolgirls abducted from Chibok in northeast Nigeria two years ago said they had identified their daughters in a video released by Islamist group Boko Haram, the first possible sighting of…
Sudan concludes Darfur referendum amid opposition boycott
EL FASHER, Sudan (Reuters) – Darfuris concluded voting on Wednesday in a referendum on whether to reunite the states of their arid western region, amid a boycott by rebel groups that accuse the government of rigging the vote to keep Darfur divided.
Saudi cabinet curbs powers of religious police
DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia has barred its religious police from pursuing suspects or making arrests, curbing the powers of an institution whose aggressive enforcement of the Islamic kingdom’s strict morality rules has drawn criticism from more libe…
Spanish police arrest man suspected of arming Paris supermarket gunman
MADRID (Reuters) – Spanish police have arrested a French man suspected of supplying the arms used by an Islamist militant to kill four people at a kosher supermarket and a policewoman in Paris in January 2015, Spain’s interior ministry said on Wednesda…
Earthquake hits Myanmar, no immediate reports of major damage
YANGON (Reuters) – An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 struck northwestern Myanmar on Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said, sending strong tremors through Myanmar, eastern India, Bangladesh and parts of Nepal.
Germany needs more time on Turkish request to prosecute satirist
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany said on Wednesday it needs more time to decide on a request from Turkey to prosecute a comedian who has caused a diplomatic row by reciting a sexually crude poem about Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on German television.
Ukraine set for new government after coalition backs Groysman for PM
KIEV (Reuters) – A coalition of Ukraine’s two largest parties has agreed to back Volodymyr Groysman for prime minister and reshuffle the cabinet, lawmakers said on Wednesday, paving the way for the biggest shake-up since a 2014 uprising brought in a pr…
