Venezuelan officials accused of taking drug pay-offs in U.S. indictment
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Two senior Venezuelan officials facing U.S. drug trafficking charges are accused in an indictment of taking payments from narcotics traffickers and alerting them to drug raids, according to a person with knowledge of the case.
Rouhani: U.N.’s closure of probe into Iran’s nuclear past is political victory
DUBAI (Reuters) – President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday a U.N. watchdog’s closure of investigations into Iran’s past nuclear activities is a political victory for the country, lifting the main obstacle to implementing Tehran’s deal with world powe…
Obama administration authorizes $1.83 billion arms sale to Taiwan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration formally notified Congress on Wednesday of a $1.83 billion arms sale package for Taiwan, including two frigates, anti-tank missiles, amphibious assault vehicles and other equipment, drawing an angry respo…
Brazil judge drops objection to Rousseff impeachment proceedings
BRASILIA (Reuters) – A controversial secret congressional vote that stacked an impeachment committee with opponents of President Dilma Rousseff was found legitimate on Wednesday by the Supreme Court justice who suspended proceedings against her last we…
Yemen’s truce in danger of collapse; prisoner swap blocked
ADEN (Reuters) – A ceasefire between Yemen’s Houthi group and a Saudi-led alliance was in danger of collapse on Wednesday, each side accusing the other of violating the truce, as peace talks went into a second day in Switzerland.
Dutch PM survives censure vote over deal with drug trafficker
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – A motion of censure against Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte over the handling of a 15-year-old deal with a convicted drug trafficker failed narrowly in parliament on Wednesday night after almost the entire opposition backed it.
Paris suspect may have slipped past Belgian police: media
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – A key suspect in last month’s Islamic State attacks in Paris may have slipped through a Belgian police cordon hidden in a car or even a piece of furniture, public broadcaster RTBF said on Wednesday.
Canada’s Trudeau takes audience questions, says not a lightweight
OTTAWA (Reuters) – New Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sat down in his shirt sleeves on Wednesday for a rare televised town hall, insisting his relaxed style of governing did not mean he was a lightweight.
Riot in Dutch town over plan for asylum-seeker center
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Dutch police on Wednesday fired warning shots in an effort to disperse a crowd, as a protest against plans to house asylum-seekers in a small town turned into a riot.
North Korea sentences Canadian pastor to hard labor for life
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea’s highest court has sentenced a South Korea-born Canadian pastor to hard labor for life for subversion, the North’s official KCNA news agency reported on Wednesday, a punishment Canada condemned as “unduly harsh.”
