Vice President Biden, Abadi discuss fight against Islamic State
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Vice President Joe Biden spoke to Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi on Thursday about the fight against Islamic State militants, expressing support for Iraqi efforts to mobilize local tribal fighters, the White House said…
U.N. says Burundi election was not free, fair or credible
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Burundi’s parliamentary election was not free, fair, transparent or credible and violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms were committed, the United Nations said on Thursday.
No breakthrough at Iran nuclear talks, ministers push for deal soon
VIENNA (Reuters) – Tehran and world powers were still shy of a breakthrough at nuclear talks on Thursday as foreign ministers flew in to help push for a swift deal and resolve disputes over how sanctions could be lifted and how Iran’s compliance would …
Germany says new reports of U.S. spying harm security ties
BERLIN/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Germany is taking seriously the latest reports about U.S. spying on senior government ministers and they are putting strains on vital security cooperation between the two countries, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman sai…
Car bomb explodes near Yemeni mosque in downtown Sanaa, injures two: police
SANAA (Reuters) – A car bomb exploded near a mosque in the downtown area of the Yemeni capital on Thursday, wounding two people, police said.
Afghan ‘hero soldier’ of parliament attack arrested in traffic death
KABUL (Reuters) – An Afghan soldier hailed as a hero for defending parliament from a Taliban assault has been arrested after a fatal traffic accident in Kabul involving a car he had been given as a reward, the Ministry of Interior said on Thursday.
Syria rejects U.N. criticism of barrel bombs, says ‘technical’ issue
GENEVA (Reuters) – Syria rejected a U.N. Human Rights Council resolution condemning its aerial bombing tactics record on Thursday, saying the use of barrel bombs was a “technical” issue that was no business of the Geneva-based body.
Pope’s South American trip: defending the poor and the planet
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis sets out on Sunday to three of South America’s poorest and smallest countries, taking his message of solidarity with the downtrodden to prisoners, peasants, garbage pickers and indigenous people.
Eight dead in new Saudi-led strikes on Yemen’s Sanaa: agency
SANAA (Reuters) – Saudi-led air strikes killed eight people on Thursday in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, residents and a news agency reported, the first such attacks after a lull of several days.
U.N. rights body calls for end to child and forced marriage
NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on Thursday calling for an end to child, early and forced marriage, and recognizing child marriage as a violation of human rights, a move campaigners w…
