U.N. chemical weapons team to leave Syria by Saturday morning: Ban
VIENNA (Reuters) – United Nations inspectors, in Syria to determine whether forces have used chemical weapons in the civil war, will continue their investigations until Friday and plan to leave by Saturday morning, the U.N. chief said.
Naming and shaming: Macau website targets deadbeat gamblers
Gamblers who skip out on casino debts in Macau risk being branded with these monikers and having personal details made public by a website that says it has helped to recover 50 million yuan ($8 million) so far.
Bulldozer kills girl in China amid land grab dispute: media
BEIJING (Reuters) – A bulldozer killed a four-year-old girl in southeastern China after her family resisted a land grab, a major cause of unrest in the country, Chinese media reported on Thursday, sparking online outrage.
Syrian coalition urges strike on Assad, military support
PARIS (Reuters) – The opposition Syrian National Coalition urged Western powers to launch a punitive strike against Bashar al-Assad’s government quickly and offer real military and political support to stop people being “exterminated”.
U.N. team goes to Damascus suburbs to test poison gas attack sites
BEIRUT (Reuters) – A team of U.N. experts left their Damascus hotel for a third day of on-site investigations into apparent chemical weapons attacks on the outskirts of the capital.
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.
