Al Qaeda faction in Syria announces offensive on fellow rebels
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Al Qaeda-linked rebels in Syria have declared an offensive against two other insurgent factions, underlining growing turmoil and infighting in the 2-1/2-year-old conflict.
Hold the press: shortages stop some Venezuela papers printing
CARACAS (Reuters) – At least five Venezuelan newspapers have temporarily stopped publishing in recent weeks for lack of paper, the latest of a string of shortages that threaten to hurt the socialist government’s popularity.
Chemical weapons regulator says Syria requests assistance
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said on Friday that Syria’s deputy foreign minister, Faisal Mekdad, had contacted it with a request for technical assistance.
Syria attacks hospitals, denies healthcare as ‘weapon of war’: U.N.
GENEVA (Reuters) – Syrian government forces are bombing and shelling hospitals in rebel-held areas to stop sick and wounded getting treatment, acts which constitute war crimes, U.N. investigators said on Friday.
Al Qaeda calls for attacks inside United States
DUBAI (Reuters) – Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri urged small-scale attacks inside the United States to “bleed America economically”, adding he hoped eventually to see a more significant strike, according to the SITE monitoring service.
Number of Syrians fleeing to Italy surges
ROME (Reuters) – The number of Syrians fleeing to Italy to escape the conflict in their homeland has surged in recent weeks, with about 3,300 reaching its shores in the past 40 days, the United Nations refugee agency said on Friday.
Poland’s ruling party pulling ahead of opposition: poll
WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland’s ruling Civic Platform (PO) pulled further ahead of its rightist opposition in a poll published on Friday, after trailing behind for months in the middle of a severe economic slowdown.
Germans frown on finger gesture by Merkel’s election rival
BERLIN (Reuters) – In a country where flashing the middle finger can cost motorists a heavy fine and ended one soccer star’s international career, Peer Steinbrueck may have hurt his slim chances of becoming Germany’s next chancellor by showing the “Sti…
Egypt pursues crackdown on Sinai militants as protests held
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian ground troops and helicopter gunships attacked Islamist militants in the Sinai Peninsula on Friday in their drive to stem a security threat now spilling over into the rest of the country.
Burundi opens probe over killings of Congo Tutsi refugees
BUJUMBURA (Reuters) – Burundi has opened an investigation into claims that a former ethnic Hutu rebel leader ordered the massacre of Congolese refugees in an attack almost a decade ago, its prosecutor’s office said on Friday.
