Russia and West at odds over Syria at U.N. nuclear meeting
VIENNA (Reuters) – Russia is pushing for the issue of Syria’s alleged past nuclear activities to be removed from the agenda of the U.N. atomic agency’s board, diplomats said on Wednesday.
China mum on diplomat’s whereabouts amid Japan spying report
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s Foreign Ministry refused to say on Wednesday where its ambassador to Iceland was or who was even representing Beijing in the country, following reports he had been arrested by state security for passing secrets to Japan.
Saudi Arabia’s top clerics speak out against militancy
RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s top clerical council, the only body in the country authorized to issue fatwas or Islamic legal opinions, declared on Wednesday that “terrorism is a heinous crime” under Sharia, and perpetrators should be made an exampl…
Pakistan’s PM threatens to clear protesters camped in capital
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, weakened by weeks of demonstrations calling for him to resign, threatened on Wednesday to clear a protest camp established more than a month ago outside government offices in Islamabad.
Bangladesh top court commutes Islamist leader’s death sentence
DHAKA (Reuters) – Bangladesh’s Supreme Court on Wednesday commuted to life imprisonment a death sentence for a top Islamist leader convicted of war crimes during the country’s war of liberation in 1971.
No damage reported as 7.1 quake strikes northwest of Guam
(Reuters) – A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck 25 miles (40 km) northwest of the Pacific island Guam on Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, with no immediate reports of serious damage.
Nearly 50 dead in Syria air strikes on central province: monitor
BEIRUT (Reuters) – At least 48 people including rebel fighters have been killed in Syrian government air bombardments around a town in the central province of Homs, a monitoring group said on Wednesday.
Exclusive: South Korea’s Park says door open for talks with North
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean President Park Geun-hye, thwarted so far in ambitious plans to begin the process of reunifying the Korean peninsula, said the door is open for talks with the North during the upcoming U.N. General Assembly.
Ignored and fed up, UK regions call for Scottish-style devolution
CAERNARFON/YORK (Reuters) – Scotland’s chance to vote for independence has lit hopes in other regions of Britain that a reworking of political ties might boost their chances of self-rule too.
Fijians head to polls for first post-coup general election
SUVA (Reuters) – Voters in Fiji headed to the polls on Wednesday for the first time in eight years, following a decision by the South Pacific island nation’s military junta that the time was right for a transition back to democratic rule.
