Pope, U.N. urge calm and dialogue amid Venezuela unrest
CARACAS (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Pope Francis called on Wednesday for an end to violence in Venezuela that has killed at least 13 people and urged politicians to take the lead in calming the nation’s worst unrest in a decade.
NATO chief still hopes to salvage new Afghan mission
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – NATO’s chief said on Wednesday he still hoped plans to keep troops in Afghanistan beyond this year could be salvaged despite objections by President Hamid Karzai that have called the mission into question.
Ukraine draws Obama into Putin’s long game
(Reuters) – Days after his ally Viktor Yanukovich was ousted as Ukraine’s leader, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a 150,000 troop Russian military exercise on Ukraine’s border. The fall of Yanukovich – and Putin’s potential response to it – ha…
U.N. Security Council urged to consider Guinea Bissau sanctions
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The U.N. special representative to Guinea-Bissau on Wednesday urged the Security Council to consider imposing sanctions against anyone who attempts to undermine the country’s forthcoming general election.
Two humanitarian workers injured in landmine explosion in Mali
BAMAKO (Reuters) – Two employees of humanitarian group Medecins du Monde’s Belgian chapter were seriously injured on Wednesday when the vehicle they were travelling in hit a landmine in restive northern Mali, the organization and a local official said….
U.N. authorizes sanctions regime for Yemen, leaves blacklist blank
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday authorized sanctions against anyone in Yemen who obstructs the country’s political transition or commits human rights violations but stopped short of blacklisting any specific individual…
Italy’s 5-Star expels four senators as internal dissent grows
ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s anti-establishment 5-Star Movement on Wednesday kicked out four senators for criticizing its leader Beppe Grillo, in the latest sign of growing internal strife in the party that took a quarter of votes at last year’s election.
Pro-Assad forces kill 175 rebels in ambush: Syrian state media
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Forces loyal to Syria’s president killed at least 175 Islamist rebel fighters, most of them foreigners, in an ambush in insurgent-held eastern outskirts of Damascus, state media said on Wednesday.
Romanian leaders reassure investors as government splits
BUCHAREST (Reuters) – Romania’s president and prime minister said they were still committed to reforms agreed with the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday, after a split in the ruling coalition threatened the IMF deal and worried investors.
Attack on Colombia candidate highlights risks to left
BOGOTA (Reuters) – Through the noise and dust churned up by her armored car, leftist presidential candidate Aida Avella assumed the popping noise was a rock hitting the wheel.
