Italy PM Letta in showdown with party boss Renzi
ROME (Reuters) – Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta failed to resolve differences with center-left leader Matteo Renzi on Wednesday after a showdown that could lead to a change of government within days.
Italy court strikes down drug law blamed for prison crowding
ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s constitutional court on Wednesday struck down a drug law that tripled sentences for selling, cultivating or possessing cannabis and which has been blamed for causing prison overcrowding.
Israel bars Gaza patients over ‘Palestine’ letterhead
GAZA (Reuters) – Israel has denied entry permits to some 50 Palestinian medical patients from the Gaza Strip because the words “State of Palestine” appears on the letterhead of their application, officials said on Wednesday.
NATO expresses concern over Italian marines’ case in India
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – NATO warned India on Wednesday that using anti-terrorism legislation to try two Italian marines accused of killing two fishermen would undermine international efforts to combat piracy.
Mass grave found in Central African Republic, U.N. warns of ‘cleansing’
BANGUI (Reuters) – African Union peacekeepers on Wednesday uncovered a mass grave at a military camp in Bangui occupied by the Muslim Seleka rebels, as a top U.N. official warned Central African Republic was succumbing to “ethnic-religious cleansing”.
Activists say five Venezuela protesters injured by gunshots
CARACAS (Reuters) – Armed pro-government groups attacked and shot at people protesting against President Nicolas Maduro’s government in western Venezuela, injuring five, activists said.
Nigerian president sacks four ministers: source
ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan sacked four ministers including aviation minister Stella Oduah, a close ally, in the latest in a wave of government changes ahead of elections next year.
Swiss government will draft law on immigration curbs by year-end
BERN (Reuters) – The Swiss government said on Wednesday it will draw up a draft law to limit immigration by the end of the year, after Swiss voters narrowly backed proposals to curtail the number of migrants from the European Union.
Kenya charges 70 with being members of al Shabaab
MOMBASA, Kenya (Reuters) – A Kenyan court on Wednesday charged 70 people with being members of Somali militant group al Shabaab, after they were arrested during a police raid on a mosque that sparked days of rioting in Mombasa.
Afghanistan halts suspected reconstruction of ancient Buddhas
KABUL (Reuters) – Afghanistan has halted conservation work at a site once occupied by ancient Buddha statues destroyed by the Taliban because the team involved is suspected of secretly trying to rebuild one of the statue’s feet, the United Nations said…
