Ex-rebel leads in El Salvador presidential run-off: poll
SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) – An ex-Marxist guerrilla pledging to expand social programs is set to win El Salvador’s presidency in a March vote by 10 percent over a right-wing challenger who promised a crackdown on crime, a CID-Gallup poll said Wednesday.
Japan on backfoot in global PR war with China after Abe shrine visit
TOKYO/BEIJING (Reuters) – Japan risks losing a global PR battle with China after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to a controversial shrine for war dead and comments by other prominent figures on the wartime past helped Beijing try to paint Tokyo as t…
White House says pursuing Afghan security agreement on troops
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is pressing Afghanistan to sign a bilateral security agreement for U.S. troops to remain in that country, White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Wednesday, a day after the director of national intelligence sai…
Bombs kill at least 17 across Iraq: police and medics
HILLA, Iraq (Reuters) – At least 17 civilians and soldiers were killed in car and roadside bomb attacks across Iraq on Wednesday, police and medics said.
Mass grave found in Central African Republic; U.N. warns of ‘cleansing’
BANGUI (Reuters) – A top U.N. official warned on Wednesday of “ethnic-religious cleansing” in the Central African Republic, as peacekeepers uncovered a mass grave at a military camp occupied by Seleka rebels in the capital Bangui.
Panama says freed North Korean ship to sail later Wednesday
PANAMA CITY (Reuters) – A North Korean ship detained near the Panama Canal for smuggling Cuban weapons will set sail with most of its crew aboard later on Wednesday after the ship’s representatives paid a trafficking fine to free it, Panama’s governmen…
Uganda’s ruling party urges Museveni to run again in 2016
KAMPALA (Reuters) – Uganda’s ruling party passed a resolution urging President Yoweri Museveni to run for re-election in 2016 in a show of solidarity seen as a message to party rivals not to bother challenging Museveni for leadership.
Colombian president seen poised for re-election: poll
BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos would be re-elected during a second round of voting in presidential elections this year, according to pollster Gallup, leading with a wide margin against his closest rival.
Exclusive: Opposition plan for post-war Syria ignores Assad
GENEVA (Reuters) – The Syrian opposition called on Wednesday for a transitional governing body to oversee a U.N.-monitored ceasefire across Syria and expel foreign fighters, in a paper that avoided any mention of President Bashar al-Assad.
Lebanese army seizes top al Qaeda-linked militant
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanon’s army on Wednesday arrested a senior al Qaeda-linked militant described by officials as a “mastermind of car bombs” hitting Shi’ite areas in recent months, triggering a major security sweep in the country.
