New ceasefire in northern Yemen after fresh air strikes
SANAA (Reuters) – A ceasefire between Shi’ite Muslim rebels and government forces went into effect on Wednesday, the Yemeni Defence Ministry said, after fresh fighting and air strikes killed a total of 19 people from both sides.
Obama gives backing to Ukraine’s new president
WARSAW (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama endorsed Ukraine’s president-elect Petro Poroshenko on Wednesday, offering Kiev financial and security help and saying he was the right choice to lead the country through its stand-off with Moscow.
Pakistan’s biggest city shuts down as protests over politician’s UK arrest spread
KARACHI Pakistan (Reuters) – Pakistan’s biggest city was in lockdown for a second day on Wednesday, with shops and markets closed and people staying home for fear of violence following the arrest in London of one of the country’s most feared men.
Suspect in Jewish museum shooting refuses extradition to Belgium
PARIS (Reuters) – The French national suspected of having shot three people dead in Brussels’ Jewish Museum last month has refused extradition from France to Belgium, prosecutors and his lawyer said on Wednesday.
Red Cross official shot dead in Libyan city of Sirte: official
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Gunmen shot dead an official at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the central Libyan city of Sirte on Wednesday, ICRC and local officials said.
‘Get out of EU,’ ex-French PM Rocard tells Britain
PARIS (Reuters) – Former French Prime Minister and fervent EU advocate Michel Rocard accused Britain on Wednesday of having only joined the European Union to serve its commercial interests, telling it to leave before it caused further damage.
Sri Lanka again rejects devolving police powers to ease tension with Tamils
COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lanka on Wednesday again rejected devolving police powers to the provinces as requested by new Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and required by the constitution as a means to ease tension with minority Tamils.
Finnish police find five decomposed human fetuses in apartment cellar
HELSINKI (Reuters) – Finnish police have found five badly decomposed human fetuses in the storage room of an apartment building in the northern town of Oulu and have arrested a woman resident on suspicion of manslaughter, authorities said on Wednesday….
Dramatic Taliban video shows dazed Bergdahl in handover
KABUL (Reuters) – A dazed Bowe Bergdahl is led by two militants, one carrying a makeshift white flag on a stick, to a Blackhawk helicopter in eastern Afghanistan ending his five years’ in captivity, a video released by the Taliban showed on Wednesday.
Central African Republic authorities suspend SMS services
BANGUI (Reuters) – Central African Republic authorities have told mobile phone operators to suspend text messages following calls on services for a nationwide civil disobedience campaign to protest against violence.