Two French soldiers wounded in Central African Republic before U.N. vote
BANGUI (Reuters) – Two French soldiers were wounded in the Central African Republic capital, an army spokesman said on Wednesday, a day before the United Nations Security Council was due to vote on a new peacekeeping force.
Netanyahu orders cutback in contacts with Palestinian Authority
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel announced on Wednesday a partial freeze in high-level contacts with the Palestinians and also threatened economic steps after they signed international conventions, deepening a crisis menacing U.S.-brokered peace talks.
Election board rejects Turkish opposition call for Ankara re-run
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s opposition failed on Thursday to have the results of a local election in Ankara canceled in an attempt to salvage some victory from nationwide polls that proved a triumph for Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.
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.
