Australian bookmaker calls election race over, begins paying bets
CANBERRA (Reuters) – An Australian bookmaker on Thursday began paying out bets on a conservative opposition victory, declaring the country’s September 7 election race already over for Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s struggling Labor government.
Colombia’s high court rules FARC peace talks law constitutional
BOGOTA (Reuters) – A Colombian high court ruled on Wednesday that a law that made peace talks possible with Marxist FARC rebels is constitutional, rejecting a legal challenge that could have jeopardized efforts to end five decades of war.
Colombia president says government ready for peace talks with ELN rebels
BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos on Wednesday said he is ready to start peace talks with the smaller of two leftist rebel groups, the National Liberation Army, in an effort to end half a century of war in the Andean nation.
Analysis: Strike on Syria could trigger retaliatory attacks, cyberwar
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – It’s a truism often repeated in the Pentagon and across the U.S. security establishment: In war, the enemy gets a vote.
China urges restraint over Syria tensions, calls for calm
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s foreign minister urged restraint on Thursday in the growing tensions over Syria, saying any military intervention in the crisis would only worsen turmoil in the Middle East.
Flash floods kill 24 in Mali’s capital Bamako, minister says
BAMAKO (Reuters) – Twenty-four people were killed in Mali’s riverside capital Bamako on Wednesday when torrential rains provoked flash floods that washed away homes in several neighborhoods, a government minister said.
Rwanda blocks proposed U.N. sanctions for two Congo rebels
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Rwanda blocked a joint U.S.-French proposal to impose U.N. sanctions on two senior commanders in the M23 rebel group in eastern Congo, arguing that the evidence against the men was weak, Rwandan and other U.N. envoys said on …
Syria evacuates most army buildings in Damascus: residents
AMMAN (Reuters) – President Bashar al-Assad’s forces appear to have evacuated most personnel from army and security command headquarters in central Damascus in preparation for a Western military strike, residents and opposition sources said on Wednesda…
Obama makes case for punishing Syria over gas attack
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama vowed on Wednesday that the Syrian government would face “international consequences” for last week’s deadly chemical attack, but made clear any military response would be limited to avoid dragging the Unit…
Panama says Cuban weapons shipment ‘without doubt’ violated U.N. sanctions
PANAMA CITY (Reuters) – Cuban weapons seized aboard a North Korean ship in Panamanian waters last month are “without doubt” a violation of United Nations sanctions against arms transfers to Pyongyang, Panama said Wednesday, citing a U.N. report.
