Pope leaves post-war Sri Lanka after preaching reconciliation
COLOMBO (Reuters) – Pope Francis started the second leg of his Asia tour on Thursday, departing from Sri Lanka after a two-day visit in which he preached a message of reconciliation between the country’s different religious groups to huge crowds.
Rights groups urge Thailand to end project that sends prisoners to sea
BANGKOK (Reuters) – More than a dozen rights groups urged Thailand on Thursday to end a project to recruit prisoners to work on fishing boats, saying it would not address problems in the fishing industry and posed a serious threat to prisoners’ rights….
China investigates Shanghai officials’ lavish banquet before stampede: Xinhua
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Authorities in Shanghai are investigating allegations that officials attended an opulent riverfront banquet on New Year’s Eve hours before dozens of people were trampled to death nearby, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Exclusive: U.S. lawmakers push ahead on Iran sanctions – senior senator
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican and Democratic U.S. lawmakers will press ahead with a plan for more sanctions on Iran, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said on Wednesday, despite White House warnings that they risked derailing n…
Hollande says aircraft carrier could support Iraq operations
ON BOARD THE CHARLES DE GAULLE (Reuters) – France’s Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier is ready to be used to support military operations against Islamic State in Iraq, French President Francois Hollande told military personnel aboard the vessel on Wed…
Female Yazidi captives forced to give blood to wounded Islamist fighters: survivor
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Female Yazidi captives are being forced to donate blood to wounded Islamic State (IS) fighters, according to a pregnant teenager who escaped after being seized and held captive by IS militants.
Cameron to lobby Obama on last UK resident held in Guantanamo
LONDON (Reuters) – Prime Minister David Cameron plans to lobby U.S. President Barack Obama for the release of the last British resident held at Guantanamo Bay on his two-day visit to Washington this week, a government source and the detainee’s lawyer s…
New round of peace talks on Ukraine to be held soon: Kiev
KIEV (Reuters) – A new round of peace talks on the conflict in Ukraine’s east could be held in the next few days, Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday, even as Kiev called on the world to ostracise rebel forces over a deadly attack on a bus.
Spain’s Catalonia to hold regional vote September 27 amid independence drive
MADRID (Reuters) – The wealthy Spanish region of Catalonia will hold an election for its regional parliament on September 27, a vote the main parties want to use as a proxy for a referendum on independence opposed by Madrid.
Kerry and Zarif hold lengthy Iran nuclear talks in Geneva
GENEVA (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Jawad Zarif held intensive talks on Tehran’s disputed nuclear program on Wednesday, returning for an evening session before handing off to their deputies, offici…
