Colombians vote for president with peace talks in the balance
BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombians voted for a president on Sunday in the tightest election in two decades that may determine whether the country continues peace talks with leftist guerrillas or steps up its battlefield offensive to end a 50-year war.
Car bomb kills 13 in Syria’s Homs: monitoring group
BEIRUT (Reuters) – At least 13 people were killed when a car bomb exploded on a busy roundabout in the central Syrian city of Homs on Sunday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.
Iran hangs first of four men over Ahmadinejad-era bank scandal
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran has hanged the first of four men sentenced to death for a massive financial scam that tainted the government of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, local media reported on Sunday.
Thai protesters test military’s resolve
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s military tightened its grip on power on Sunday as it moved to quell growing protests, saying anyone violating its orders would be tried in military court.
Taliban free most of 27 hostages in Afghan province
KABUL (Reuters) – The Islamist Taliban have freed most of the 27 prisoners captured last week in Afghanistan’s northern Badakhanshan province, a local official said on Sunday, but three remained captive because of their senior rank.
Exclusive: Fugitive Thai minister says army led government into trap
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s top generals lured the former government and its supporters into a trap by arranging peace talks between political heavyweights then seizing power in a coup moments later, a deposed minister said on Sunday.
Italy’s woeful waste management on trial with Il Supremo trash king
ROME (Reuters) – Italian businessman Manlio Cerroni thinks a monument would be a fitting recognition of his services to Rome. Instead, the 86-year-old, who spent 60 years building a global empire and a personal fortune on trash, is facing trial on a st…
Egyptian crackdown risks spreading instability abroad, Islamist says
CAIRO (Reuters) – A former Muslim Brotherhood leader has warned that government oppression in Egypt is fanning militancy that will pose a threat abroad unless the army-backed authorities start respecting freedom and human rights.
World Cup a minefield for Brazil’s Rousseff in election year
SAO PAULO/BRASILIA (Reuters) – The script was simple enough: host the soccer World Cup, win it for a record sixth time and ride a wave of national euphoria to another four years in power.
Kurds say Iraqi bid to thwart oil exports via Turkey will fail
ARBIL, Iraq (Reuters) – Iraq’s bid to thwart exports of oil from Kurdistan via Turkey by filing for arbitration is a “hollow threat” that will fail, the autonomous region said in a statement on Sunday.
