Freed nuns reach Damascus as prisoner exchange continues
DAMASCUS/AMMAN (Reuters) – Thirteen Greek Orthodox nuns arrived in Damascus on Monday after al Qaeda fighters who held them for more than three months freed them in a deal providing for the release of women prisoners held by President Bashar al-Assad’s…
Chilean is first foreign fatality in Venezuela unrest
CARACAS (Reuters) – A Chilean woman was shot dead while clearing a barricade put up by anti-government protesters, the first foreign fatality during a month of civil unrest in Venezuela, authorities said on Monday.
Ohio Libertarian candidates appeal to get names on May ballot
CLEVELAND (Reuters) – Libertarian Party candidates for Ohio governor and attorney general are challenging rulings by a Republican secretary of state that would keep their names off the ballot in a state primary in May, attorneys said Monday.
Confrontation in Ukraine as diplomacy stalls
SEVASTOPOL/KIEV (Reuters) – A pro-Russian force opened fire in seizing a Ukrainian military base in Crimea on Monday and NATO announced reconnaissance flights along its eastern frontiers as confrontation around the Black Sea peninsula showed no sign of…
Syria among ‘most dangerous places on Earth’ for children: UNICEF
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The number of children affected by the civil war in Syria has more than doubled over the past year, with hundreds of thousands of young Syrians trapped in besieged parts of the country, the United Nations Children’s Fund said…
Turkish cleric says Erdogan risking decade of reforms: FT
ANKARA (Reuters) – A U.S.-based cleric locked in a feud with the Turkish government has likened Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s grip on power to that of the once-dominant military, and warned that political and economic reforms of the past decade are u…
Libya orders military force to ‘liberate’ rebel-held ports
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libya’s parliament has ordered a special force to be sent within one week to “liberate” all rebel-held ports in the volatile east, officials said on Monday, raising the stakes over a blockage that has cut off vital oil revenue.
El Salvador ex-rebel’s lead ‘irreversible,’ rival wants recount
SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) – A former Marxist rebel commander’s tiny lead in El Salvador’s presidential election is irreversible, the country’s electoral tribunal said on Monday, but his right-wing challenger demanded a full recount, insisting he was the r…
Italy lawmakers wrangle but set to pass Renzi electoral law
ROME (Reuters) – Italian lawmakers rejected a bid on Monday to set minimum quotas for women in parliament under a new electoral law but are expected to pass the package as a whole, advancing Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s quest for wider economic reform…
Al Shabaab leader urges Somalis to battle old enemy Ethiopia
MOGADISHU (Reuters) – The leader of the al Qaeda-aligned Islamist group al Shabaab has urged Somalis to wage holy war against Ethiopia, Somalia’s Horn of Africa neighbor whose forces are preparing to lead an African Union offensive against the militant…
