Rebels evacuated from Homs, cradle of Syrian uprising
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Hundreds of Syrian rebels on Wednesday abandoned their last stronghold in the heart of Homs city, an epicenter of the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad, handing him a symbolic victory weeks before his likely re-election.
Former hostage tells London imam’s U.S. trial about escape in Yemen
NEW YORK (Reuters) – With her Yemeni captor lying on the sand with a gunshot wound, Mary Quin hesitated for only a few seconds.
Italian lawmakers favor halving spending on F-35 jet
ROME (Reuters) – Lawmakers in Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s party on Wednesday backed cutting by half the 12 billion euros ($16.72 billion) earmarked for Italy’s order of 90 Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets.
‘Saudi Liberals’ website founder sentenced to 10 years in jail, 1,000 lashes
DUBAI (Reuters) – A court in Saudi Arabia has sentenced the editor of an Internet forum he founded to discuss the role of religion in the conservative Islamic kingdom to 10 years in jail and 1,000 lashes, Saudi media reported on Wednesday.
Israel, U.S. divided over Iranian nuclear enrichment deal
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel insists Iran be denied uranium enrichment capabilities under a potentially imminent nuclear deal, a demand that risks opening a new Israeli-United States rift, officials said on Wednesday.
South Sudan says it will suspend attacks on rebels for a month
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – South Sudan’s government said on Wednesday it had ordered a one-month suspension of attacks on rebel forces as international pressure mounts for an end to an ethnic conflict that has raised fears of genocide.
Death toll climbs to 80 from illegal alcohol in Kenya
NAIROBI (Reuters) – Eighty people have died after drinking from a batch of illegal liquor in Kenya and police have detained several people for questioning, officials and police said on Wednesday.
South Africans vote in first ‘Born Free’ election
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africans voted in the first “Born Free” election on Wednesday, with the image of the ruling African National Congress as conqueror of apartheid likely to appeal even to those with no memory of white-minority rule.
Central African Republic journalists protest murders of colleagues
BANGUI (Reuters) – Journalists in the Central African Republic held a one-day strike on Wednesday to protest at the killings of two of their colleagues amid clashes between Muslims and Christians in the capital Bangui last week.
Hamas executes two men in Gaza as spies for Israel
GAZA (Reuters) – Two Palestinians were executed in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday as Israeli spies, the enclave’s Islamist Hamas government said, adding they had helped the Jewish state’s armed forces carry out lethal operations.
