U.S. denies it sought direct negotiations with Syria in Geneva
WASHINGTON/BEIRUT (Reuters) – Washington denied claims by Syria’s foreign minister on Saturday that American diplomats had sought to negotiate directly with their Syrian counterparts at last week’s ‘Geneva 2’ peace conference in Switzerland.
Video shows beheading of man in Syria by al Qaeda rebels
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Rebels in Syria with ties to al Qaeda have decapitated a man believed to have been a pro-government Shi’ite fighter, an amateur video of the public beheading posted to the Internet on Saturday showed.
Political paralysis looms as Thais go to polls
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thai voters go to the polls under heavy security on Sunday in an election that could push the divided country deeper into political turmoil and leave the winner paralyzed for months by street protests, legal challenges and legislati…
West presses Ukraine, offers treatment to injured activist
KIEV (Reuters) – Western governments pressed Ukraine’s president to compromise with protesters camped on the streets, prompting a war of words with Russia on Saturday and offering treatment to an opposition activist who says he was tortured.
Jordanian Islamist prisoners stage hunger strike
AMMAN (Reuters) – Islamist prisoners in Jordan, including several prominent figures linked to al Qaeda, began a hunger strike on Saturday to protest about jail conditions, sources and officials said.
Suicide bomber kills three in Lebanese Hezbollah stronghold
BEIRUT (Reuters) – A suicide car bomber killed three people at a petrol station in a stronghold of the Shi’ite militant Hezbollah movement on Lebanon’s northern border on Saturday, the latest sign that Syria’s civil war is spilling over into its small …
Hundreds evacuated from besieged district of Syrian capital
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Aid agencies in Syria have evacuated hundreds of people from the rebel-held Damascus suburb of Yarmouk, a government-aligned Palestinian group said on Saturday, in a rare moment of coordination between the government and rebel forces…
Israel’s finance minister halts funds to West Bank settlements
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s finance minister halted the transfer of government funds to West Bank Jewish settlements on Saturday and ordered a probe into allegations that money meant to support municipalities had been funneled to a pro-settler polit…
Iraqi army prepares to storm militant-held Falluja
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi security forces are preparing to storm Falluja and break a month-long standoff with militants who are in control of the city, senior security officials and troops told Reuters on Saturday.
NATO chief doesn’t see Karzai signing security pact
MUNICH (Reuters) – President Hamid Karzai is unlikely to sign a pact for U.S. and NATO forces to stay in Afghanistan after 2014 and will probably leave the choice for his successor, NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Saturday.
