Tens of thousands of Syrians abroad vote in early poll
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Refugees waved flags and held pictures of Bashar al-Assad as they crushed into Damascus’s embassy in Lebanon on Wednesday to join Syrians worldwide voting early in an election that looks certain to give him a third seven-year term as…
Afghan leader praises U.S. move to withdraw all troops by 2016
KABUL (Reuters) – Outgoing Afghan President Hamid Karzai welcomed a U.S. decision to withdraw all troops by the end of 2016, saying on Wednesday that this should give the Taliban a reason to end their insurgency and negotiate with the next government.
EU sends soldiers to help in relief operations after Bosnia floods
SARAJEVO (Reuters) – Around 400 soldiers from Austria, Slovakia and the United Kingdom will join the EU peacekeeping mission in Bosnia this week to help conduct relief operations after the worst floods in living memory hit the country, EUFOR said on We…
Poland pitches for EU’s top diplomat role
WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland on Wednesday put forward its foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski, an outspoken critic of the Kremlin, for the job of the European Union’s top diplomat.
Obama says U.S. to boost support to Syrian opposition groups
WEST POINT N.Y. (Reuters) – In a major foreign policy address on Wednesday, President Barack Obama said he will work with Congress to ramp up U.S. support for Syrian opposition groups that are the best alternative to President Bashar al-Assad.
Pakistani woman stoned to death for marrying for love was pregnant
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – The postmortem of a Pakistani woman killed for marrying the man she loved has established that she was five months pregnant, her stepson told Reuters on Wednesday.
Thai military rulers appoint anti-Thaksin advisers
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s junta has appointed two retired generals with palace connections as advisers, putting powerful establishment figures hostile towards former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra firmly in the ascendant in the country’s long-r…
Prudent on talks, Turkish Cypriots say gas find could be obstacle
PARIS (Reuters) – Turkish Cyprus’s chief negotiator played down on Wednesday the prospect of a quick solution in peace talks with his Greek rivals, warning that the discovery of natural gas in the region was possibly more of an obstacle than of help.
Senegal seeks new site for Turkish embassy after protests
DAKAR (Reuters) – Senegal will seek a new site for the Turkish embassy after plans to built it on a pristine stretch of coastline in the capital Dakar sparked fierce protests from environmentalists and civil society groups, an official said on Tuesday….
Courting Kurdish vote, Turkey’s Erdogan warns against sabotaging peace
DIYARBAKIR Turkey (Reuters) – Kurdish demonstrators have blocked a highway in southeast Turkey and seized a soldier in protest at the building of military outposts, exposing the fragility of a peace process which Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan hopes may…
