Fidel Castro labels libelous report Cuba blocked Snowden travel
HAVANA (Reuters) – Retired Cuban president Fidel Castro blasted on Wednesday a report in a Russian newspaper that his country buckled to U.S. pressure and blocked former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden from traveling through Cuba to exile in …
Ghana’s top court seen rejecting challenge to Mahama’s vote win
ACCRA (Reuters) – Ghana’s Supreme Court is expected this week to reject an opposition challenge to President John Mahama’s victory in last year’s close-fought election, legal and political experts said on Wednesday.
Shortage of female security forces could keep Afghan women from vote
KABUL (Reuters) – Women across Afghanistan risk being unable to vote in next year’s presidential elections because of a severe shortage of women in the security forces, the country’s election monitor said on Wednesday.
Israel deploys full missile defenses against Syria: radio
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel is deploying all of its missile defenses as a precaution against possible Syrian retaliatory attacks should Western powers carry out threatened strikes on Syria, Israeli Army Radio said on Wednesday.
Son of Chinese general denies gang rape, inflames public anger
BEIJING (Reuters) – The teenage son of a prominent Chinese general denied the charge of gang rape on Wednesday, inflaming public anger in a case that has stirred resentment against the offspring of the political elite who are widely seen as spoilt.
Syria’s chemical weapons program was built to counter Israel
AMSTERDAM/AMMAN (Reuters) – Syria, defeated by Israel in three wars and afraid its arch enemy had gained a nuclear arsenal, began in earnest to build a covert chemical weapons program three decades ago, aided by its neighbors, allies and European chemi…
Japan’s Kono urges PM Abe to stop being coy over war dead shrine
TOKYO (Reuters) – Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should clarify whether he will visit a Tokyo shrine seen in much of Asia as a symbol of Japan’s past militarism if he really wants to improve ties with China, a former moderate leader of Abe’s party said on W…
German foreign minister urges Russia to back U.N. resolution on Syria
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany on Wednesday urged states, especially Russia, to support a British draft resolution to the UN Security Council condemning attacks by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and authorizing ‘necessary measures’ to protect civilians.
Syrian refugees rescued off Italian coast
ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s coast guard and navy rescued about 350 people, mostly Syrians, off the coast of southeastern Sicily on Wednesday, and a port official said he expected more refugees fleeing Syria’s civil war to arrive.
IAEA, Iran to hold first nuclear talks since Rouhani election
VIENNA (Reuters) – The U.N. nuclear watchdog and Iran will hold a new round of talks on September 27 over Tehran’s disputed atomic program, the first such meeting since relative moderate Hassan Rouhani took office as Iranian president.
