At least two killed by gunfire at Venezuela protests
CARACAS (Reuters) – At least two people were shot dead on Wednesday during anti-government protests in Caracas, escalating the worst bout of unrest in Venezuela since turmoil after President Nicolas Maduro’s election last year.
Egypt’s Sabahi calls for release of ‘prisoners of conscience’
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian politician Hamdeen Sabahi on Wednesday called for the release of what he termed “prisoners of conscience,” days after he announced he would run for president.
Swiss immigration vote shows loss of trust in business elite: minister
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – A loss of trust in Switzerland’s business and political elite may be one of the reasons the alpine nation voted in favor of putting strict limits on immigration, Swiss Economy Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann said on Wednesday.
Syria killing accelerates as peace talks falter
BEIRUT (Reuters) – More Syrians have been killed in the three weeks since peace talks began than at any other time in the civil war, activists said on Wednesday, as troops pounded rebel towns on the Lebanese border and negotiations faltered in Geneva.
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…
