U.S. looking for ‘first step’ from Iran in nuclear talks
GENEVA (Reuters) – The United States increased pressure on Iran on Wednesday to agree in the next two days a “first step” nuclear deal that would see it halt expansion of its atomic program and reverse parts of it.
No end in sight for Toronto mayor crack saga
TORONTO (Reuters) – Protesters left colorful chalk messages on walls and pavement outside Toronto City Hall on Wednesday urging Mayor Rob Ford to quit after his bombshell admission on Tuesday that he has smoked crack cocaine.
Insight: Failure to end China’s labor camps shows limits of Xi’s power
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping has been blocked in efforts to dismantle the country’s labor camp system in a clear sign that he has yet to cement his grip on the ruling Communist Party a year after gaining power, leadership sources sa…
Sudan plans cabinet reshuffle after fuel price protests
CAIRO (Reuters) – Sudan’s government will have a major cabinet reshuffle in the next two weeks, its first vice president said on Wednesday, a move apparently aimed at appeasing protesters after fuel price increases provoked the country’s worst unrest i…
Al Qaeda claims killing of French journalists in Mali: report
NOUAKCHOTT (Reuters) – The Mauritanian news website Sahara Medias said on Wednesday it had received a claim of responsibility from al Qaeda’s regional wing for the killing of two French journalists in northern Mali.
Colombia, FARC agree on rebels’ future if peace signed
BOGOTA/HAVANA (Reuters) – Colombia’s government and Marxist FARC rebels reached a “fundamental agreement” on the guerrillas’ future in politics, one of the thorniest issues addressed in peace talks in Cuba, according to a joint statement on Wednesday.
U.N. struggles to break impasse in Cyprus talks
NICOSIA (Reuters) – U.N. diplomats struggled on Wednesday to revive stalled peace talks on Cyprus, where an ethnic division dating back four decades is dogging Turkey’s bid to join the European Union.
Palestinian leader Arafat was murdered with polonium: widow
PARIS (Reuters) – Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was poisoned to death in 2004 with radioactive polonium, his widow Suha said on Wednesday after receiving the results of Swiss forensic tests on her husband’s corpse.
Spain tells U.N. no rethink on post-Franco amnesty
GENEVA (Reuters) – Spain told a critical United Nations panel on Wednesday that a 1978 amnesty for political crimes committed during the 1936-39 civil war and the right-wing dictatorship of Francisco Franco would not be reviewed, despite growing calls …
U.S. may consider easing sanctions on Rwanda: envoy
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States would consider resuming military aid to Rwanda if it found Rwandan support for the M23 Congolese rebel group believed to use child soldiers had ended, a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday.
