Mexico captures drug lord Beltran Leyva: government source
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Hector Beltran Leyva, head of a family crime syndicate that waged a bloody conflict in Mexico with a former ally, drug kingpin Joaquin “Shorty” Guzman, was captured on Wednesday, an interior ministry source said.
Hong Kong leader plays waiting game, protesters demand he resigns
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s leader is willing to let pro-democracy demonstrations blocking large areas of the city go on for weeks if necessary, a source close to him said, while defiant protesters vowed they would not budge.
U.S. cautions Israel about settlement plans in East Jerusalem
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States expressed concern on Wednesday about reports that Israel had moved forward plans for settlements in East Jerusalem, warning the move would call into question Israel’s commitment to peace with the Palestinians.
At least 10 killed in shelling of school and mini-van in Ukraine
DONETSK Ukraine (Reuters) – At least 10 people were killed on Wednesday when shells hit a school playground and a public transit mini-van in a nearby street in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, underscoring the fragility of a ceasefire between separatists an…
Israel’s Netanyahu to Obama: Don’t allow Iran deal that leaves it at nuclear threshold
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bluntly told U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday that he must make sure that any final nuclear deal with Iran does not leave it at the “threshold” of being able to develop nuclear weapons.
Two Algerians investigated over Frenchman’s kidnapping: sources
ALGIERS (Reuters) – Two Algerians who accompanied Frenchman Herve Gourdel just before militants kidnapped and beheaded him are under house arrest while a judge investigates whether they were involved in the abduction, two security sources said on Wedne…
Foreign doctors, military guards: Bespoke care for North Korea’s Kims
SEOUL (Reuters) – In 1993, French neurosurgeon Francois-Xavier Roux received a phone call in Paris from an unidentified North Korean official. The then leader-in-waiting, Kim Jong Il, had suffered a head injury from horse-riding accident and they wante…
Special Report: In ‘Umbrella Revolution,’ China confronts limits of its power
HONG KONG (Reuters) – In the heart of Mong Kok, one of the most densely populated districts on earth, an abandoned Hong Kong police van is enveloped in the student-led demonstrations paralyzing swathes of the city. Along with yellow ribbons and flowers, symbols of the city’s pro-democracy movement, protesters have taped a hand-written placard in Chinese and English to the side of the locked and undamaged vehicle.
Britain’s Hill charms but fails to sway EU lawmakers
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The installation of a new executive team for the European Union hit a first major obstacle on Wednesday when EU lawmakers ordered Britain’s Jonathan Hill to return next week to try again to convince them he could be trusted to over…
Turkey vows to fight Islamic State, coalition strikes near border
MURSITPINAR Turkey/BEIRUT (Reuters) – Turkey signalled it may send troops into Syria or Iraq and let allies use Turkish bases to fight Islamic State, as coalition jets launched air strikes on Wednesday on insurgents besieging a town on its southern bor…
