Australia to reintroduce temporary visas for refugees
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia will reintroduce a controversial temporary visa system to deal with a huge backlog of asylum seekers, its immigration minister said on Thursday, despite criticism the stopgap process leaves refugees in limbo.
Obama at U.N. pledges steps to more open government
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – President Barack Obama pledged on Wednesday that the United States would provide easier access to federal spending information, part of a global effort to create more open governments.
Sri Lanka president uses U.N. speech to assail war crimes probe
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa assailed the United Nations Human Rights Council on Wednesday in his address to the U.N. General Assembly, calling its probe into Sri Lanka’s 26-year civil war disproportionate and polit…
Nigeria’s president says still working to free abducted girls
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan told the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday that authorities were still working to free some 200 girls abducted from a school by Boko Haram militants in April.
Obama at U.N. pledges steps to more open government
NEW YORK (Reuters) – President Barack Obama pledged on Wednesday that the United States would provide easier access to federal spending information, part of a global effort to create more open governments.
Colombia rebels, government publish accords agreed so far at talks
BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombia’s government and leftist FARC rebels on Wednesday released copies of previously unpublished agreements reached at peace talks to end five decades of war, providing a glimpse of accords that could make up a final deal.
Islamist fighters advance in Syria despite U.S. strikes
DAMASCUS/MURSITPINAR Turkey (Reuters) – U.S. planes pounded Islamic State positions in Syria for a second day on Wednesday, but the strikes did not halt the fighters’ advance in a Kurdish area where fleeing refugees told of villages burnt and captives …
Vietnam welcomes efforts by U.S. to end its weapons embargo
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Vietnam would welcome an end to the arms embargo clamped on it by the United States, the country’s foreign minister said on Wednesday, as he played down the notion that the move would inflame Hanoi’s maritime dispute with China.
Qatar, a partner in U.S. airstrikes, says Syrian regime main problem
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Qatar, which provided support for U.S.-led airstrikes in Syria this week, urged the international community to confront the Syrian regime, highlighting pressure by some of Washington’s Gulf Arab allies to widen its campaign against Islamic State.
Mexico lawmaker likely killed by drug cartel: prosecutor
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexican federal congressman Gabriel Gomez, the most high-profile politician murdered in recent years, was likely executed by a drug cartel, a state prosecutor said on Wednesday.
