Venezuela reaches out to Vatican No. 2 to mediate crisis
CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s government formally invited Vatican No. 2 Cardinal Pietro Parolin on Wednesday to mediate talks with the opposition in hopes of stemming violence that has killed dozens in the nation’s worst unrest in a decade.
Kuwait hopes for remedy to Gulf row over Qatar soon
KUWAIT (Reuters) – Kuwait expects to see “positive steps” taken in a dispute between Qatar and three other Gulf Arab states as soon as this week that may include a decision to send those countries’ ambassadors back to Doha, a Kuwaiti official said on W…
Frontrunner in Afghan vote rules out coalition government
KABUL (Reuters) – A frontrunner to succeed Hamid Karzai as Afghanistan’s president voiced the possibility of teaming up with a rival on Wednesday but ruled out forming a coalition government in order to avoid a second-round runoff.
Pistorius forced to look at ‘exploded’ head of girlfriend
PRETORIA (Reuters) – A South African prosecutor forced Oscar Pistorius on Wednesday to look at a forensic photograph that showed the head of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp after it was blown open by a hollow-point bullet fired by the Olympic and Paraly…
Twin car bombs in Syria’s Homs kill at least 21 people
BEIRUT (Reuters) – At least 21 people including women and children were killed by twin car bombs in the central Syrian city of Homs on Wednesday, a monitoring group and state media said.
Cuba says U.S. hunger striker’s treatment in prison ‘dignified’
HAVANA (Reuters) – A U.S. contractor who has launched a hunger strike while serving a long prison term in Cuba is receiving “dignified and decent treatment” in a hospital ward where he is in stable health, a Cuban official said on Wednesday.
Kenya deports Somalis, arrests hundreds in crackdown after attacks
NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya said on Wednesday it had deported 82 Somalis and rounded up hundreds of others without proper documents, part of a security crackdown launched after repeated attacks claimed by militants from neighboring Somalia.
Trinidad’s ex-Prime Minister Robinson dies at 87
PORT OF SPAIN (Reuters) – Trinidad and Tobago’s former Prime Minister and President A.N.R. (Ray) Robinson, one of the architects of the International Criminal Court, died on Wednesday at age 87 after a long illness.
Top EU election candidates struggle to find differences
PARIS (Reuters) – The top two rival candidates to lead the European Commission struggled on Wednesday to find real policy differences in the first live television debate ahead of European Parliament elections next month.
Cuba says U.S. hunger striker’s treatment in prison ‘dignified’
HAVANA (Reuters) – A U.S. contractor who has launched a hunger strike while serving a long prison term in Cuba is receiving “dignified and decent treatment” in a hospital ward where he is in stable health, a Cuban official said on Wednesday.
