Ivory Coast to hold post-war presidential election on Oct 25
ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Ivory Coast’s government on Wednesday fixed Oct. 25 as the date for a presidential election considered a key step in overcoming a decade of political turmoil and civil war.
Protesters march in Nepal to demand charter drop the term ‘secular’
KATHMANDU (Reuters) – Hindu activists protested in the Nepali capital on Wednesday, saying the use of the word “secular” in the Himalayan nation’s draft constitution would spur efforts by other religious groups to convert Hindus.
Twenty years on, Croatia celebrates end of war as Serbia mourns
ZAGREB/BELGRADE (Reuters) – Croatia rolled out tanks and waved flags to mark the 20th anniversary on Wednesday of the blitz that ended its independence war while Serbia mourned the event as ‘the biggest ethnic cleansing since World War Two’.
U.N. rights boss urges Iran to halt death penalty, free spiritual figure
GENEVA (Reuters) – The top U.N. human rights official called on Iran on Wednesday to release a spiritual figure sentenced to death at the weekend and end its longtime “problematic” use of executions.
China says has stopped reclamation work in South China Sea
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday that Beijing had halted land reclamation in the South China Sea, and called on countries in the region to speed up talks on how claimant states should conduct themselves in the…
Official killed in Burundi as crisis deepens
NAIROBI (Reuters) – A local leader of Burundi’s ruling party was attacked and killed in the capital Bujumbura, officials said on Wednesday, the third high-profile attack in three days.
Don’t treat divorced Catholics as outcasts, Pope tells priests
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis told priests on Wednesday to be more merciful to Catholics who have divorced and remarried outside the Church, saying they should not be treated as if they had been excommunicated.
Russia’s Lavrov criticizes Obama over missile shield plans
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s foreign minister said on Wednesday U.S. President Barack Obama appeared not to have told the truth in 2009 comments about the need for a planned missile shield in Europe should a nuclear deal be reached with Iran.
Syrian Islamist group says had been in talks with Iran
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian Islamist insurgent group Ahrar al-Sham said on Wednesday it had been in talks with an Iranian delegation regarding the Syrian city of Zabadani but that the discussions had been halted.
Britain’s most high-profile Islamist cleric charged with IS support
LONDON (Reuters) – Anjem Choudary, Britain’s most high-profile Islamist preacher, well-known globally for praising the men responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, was charged on Wednesday with inviting support for Islamic State (IS)….
