U.N. council condemns attacks on Syria civilians, barrel bombs
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The United Nations Security Council on Friday condemned continued indiscriminate attacks on civilians in Syria, including aerial bombardment and barrel bombings that Western powers say only the government is capable of carryi…
Tariq Aziz, Iraqi foreign minister under Saddam, dies in jail
(Reuters) – Tariq Aziz, who was foreign minister of Iraq under Saddam Hussein, has died in prison, Iraqi officials said on Friday. He was 79.
Two dead, 100 hurt in blasts at Kurdish rally in Turkey
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) – Two blasts ripped through a Kurdish rally in Turkey on Friday, killing two people and injuring more than 100 in what President Tayyip Erdogan described as a “provocation” designed to undermine peace before Sunday’s parlia…
Malaysia jungle graves add to Obama’s trade pact headache in Congress
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The discovery of scores of graves in people-smuggling camps in Malaysia is casting a shadow over President Barack Obama’s signature trade deal as U.S. lawmakers consider punishing trading partners that are soft on human trafficking.
Argentina’s Macri dismisses opposition pact in presidential race
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Pro-business Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri has ruled out forming an alliance with fellow opposition candidate Sergio Massa ahead of Argentina’s October presidential election, Macri’s campaign team said on Friday.
Texas man sentenced to prison for trying to join Islamic State
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – An Austin, Texas man was sentenced on Friday to almost seven years in prison for attempting to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State militant group.
Tariq Aziz was Saddam’s voice through war and crises
(Reuters) – Through long years of conflict and crisis in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, Tariq Aziz was his master’s voice to the outside world – an urbane, cigar-smoking diplomat who relayed Saddam’s tough and uncompromising stance to his enemies.
Ghana’s capital cleans up after fire, floods kill 150
ACCRA (Reuters) – Authorities in Ghana cleared wreckage on Friday and braced for more rains, a day after flooding and an explosion at a packed gas station killed 150 people in the capital.
‘Harness the power of volunteers’, U.N. tells governments
NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Many governments are failing to harness the untapped potential of volunteers, ordinary citizens who can shine light on injustice and hold those in power to account, the United Nations said in a report on Friday.
Gang violence fuels child marriage in Central America, researchers say
BOGOTA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Rampant gang violence and drug turf wars in parts of Central America are fuelling child marriage as girls seek to marry or couple with gang members and older men as a form of protection, researchers say.
