Pope’s ‘homecoming’ tour moves from Ecuador to Bolivia
QUITO (Reuters) – Pope Francis showed his sense of humor during the last few hours of his trip to Ecuador on Wednesday, straying from a prepared speech to joke with people who came to see him at a shrine near the highland capital Quito.
U.S. spy agency tapped German chancellery for decades: WikiLeaks
BERLIN (Reuters) – The U.S. National Security Agency tapped phone calls involving German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her closest advisers for years and spied on the staff of her predecessors, WikiLeaks said on Wednesday.
Inside Palmasola prison, Pope Francis will find inmates rule
SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia (Reuters) – Guards only secure the perimeter of Palmasola, Bolivia’s most notorious prison. Inside each unit, murderers, drug traffickers and rapists make the rules and run a lucrative criminal economy.
Migrant arrivals in Europe jump by two-thirds in early 2015, EU seeks deal
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The number of migrants seeking protection in the European Union soared by 68 percent in the first five months of 2015 compared with the year-earlier period, the EU said on Wednesday at a time of haggling between member states over …
Russia blocks U.N. condemnation of Srebrenica as a genocide
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Russia vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution on Wednesday that would have condemned the Srebrenica massacre as a genocide to mark the 20th anniversary of the killing of 8,000 Muslim men and boys.
Iraq celebrates return of antiquities, appeals for world help
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq celebrated on Wednesday the return of hundreds of historical artefacts, from an ancient Assyrian statue to a 20th century presidential tea set, which were looted, lost or loaned abroad over recent decades.
Syrian Kurds reclaim town from Islamic State: monitor
BEIRUT (Reuters) – A Syrian Kurdish militia on Wednesday recaptured a town that had been stormed by Islamic State fighters earlier this week north of the jihadist group’s base of operations in Raqqa city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reporte…
For Spain, Greek risk is political, not economic
MADRID (Reuters) – The Greek crisis may not end up spilling over to Spain’s economy, but it is shaking up its already volatile politics months before an election.
Israeli blockade makes Gaza recovery ‘impossible’: aid agency
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Israel’s blockade of building materials for Gaza has created one of the highest levels of unemployment in the world and made it impossible for the small coastal enclave to recover from the war a year ago, aid agenc…
Syria ratifies fresh $1 billion credit line from Iran
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has signed a law ratifying a $1 billion credit line from top regional ally Iran, Syria’s state news agency SANA said in a newsflash on Wednesday, funds which will help ease economic strains from the c…
