Pope expresses ‘profound pain’ at killing of priest in Syria
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis spoke on Wednesday of his deep grief over the assassination of a 75-year-old Dutch Jesuit priest in Syria and made a renewed appeal for an end to the violence.
Italy rescues 4,000 migrants in 48 hours in escalating crisis
ROME (Reuters) – Italy has rescued 4,000 migrants from boats trying to reach European shores in the past 48 hours in a deepening immigration crisis, the interior minister said on Wednesday.
Special Report: From Hungary, far-right party spreads ideology, tactics
WARSAW (Reuters) – In a rented public hall not far from Poland’s parliament, about 150 people gathered one afternoon late last year to hear speeches by a collection of far-right leaders from around Europe.
New ping signals spark confidence in Malaysia Airlines search
SYDNEY/PERTH, Australia (Reuters) – Australian officials said on Wednesday two new “ping” signals had been detected in the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, boosting confidence after more than a month of fruitless searching for the missing jet…
Iran nuclear deal being implemented as planned: IAEA chief
OSLO (Reuters) – Iran is implementing last year’s interim nuclear deal with six world powers as planned, U.N. atomic energy chief Yukiya Amano said on Wednesday, almost three months after the accord took effect.
Netanyahu orders cutback in contacts with Palestinian Authority
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered a halt to high-level contacts with the Palestinians on non-security related issues, but exempted his chief peace negotiator from the ban, government officials said on Wednesday…
Saudi records 11 cases of MERS virus in Jeddah
ABU DHABI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday it had recorded 11 cases infected with the potentially deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus in Jeddah, including hospital staff.
China angered by latest U.S. arms sale plan for Taiwan
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s defense ministry expressed anger on Wednesday after the U.S. House of Representatives agreed to authorize the sale to Taiwan of four second-hand U.S. warships, saying the United States had ignored Chinese protests.
China recruits ‘guardian angels’ to protect embattled doctors
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China’s capital Beijing is taking a novel approach to protecting doctors from growing levels of violence from angry patients: volunteer “guardian angels”.
NATO to triple Baltic air patrol from next month
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – NATO will triple its usual number of fighter jets patrolling over the Baltics next month to beef up its eastern European defenses due to tension with Russia over Ukraine, a NATO military official said on Tuesday.
