U.S., Russia differ on military force as Syria talks open
GENEVA (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov opened talks on Thursday on disarming Syria’s chemical weapons programs, but differences emerged at the outset of the expected two-day negotiations.
Vatican to cooperate in Dominican Republic pedophilia investigation
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – The Vatican said on Thursday it would cooperate with Dominican Republic authorities investigating the Holy See’s former ambassador on suspicion of pedophilia and denied the envoy had been recalled to protect him from local just…
Cubans make yellow-ribbon appeal to U.S. over imprisoned spies
HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuba held a day of protest on Thursday over four intelligence agents imprisoned in the United States, displaying yellow ribbons to show national support for bringing the men home on the 15th anniversary of their arrest in Florida.
U.N. report may hint at source of Syria chemical weapons attack
UNITED NATIONS/AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – U.N. chemical weapons investigators will not explicitly blame anyone in their upcoming report on the August 21 poison gas attack in Syria, but diplomats say their factual reporting alone could suggest which side in …
U.N. receives document from Syria on joining chemical arms pact
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The United Nations said it received a document from Syria on Thursday on joining the global anti-chemical weapons treaty, something the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad promised as part of a deal to avoid U.S. a…
Assad says will abandon chemical arms once U.S. stops threats
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad said he would only finalise plans to abandon his chemical arsenal when the United States stopped threatening to attack him, in an interview broadcast on Thursday.
U.S. warns Syria on stalling over chemical weapons, says retains military option
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Documents that Syria sent to the United Nations on joining the global anti-chemical weapons treaty as part of a deal to avoid U.S. air strikes cannot be a substitute for disarmament or a stalling tactic, the U.S. State Department…
Ex-CIA official seeks pardon in Italy over rendition
ROME (Reuters) – Former CIA Milan station chief Robert Seldon Lady has asked Italy’s president to pardon him for kidnapping an Egyptian Muslim cleric under the U.S. “extraordinary rendition” program for which he was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Estonia PM says voter bailout fatigue easing, open to new Greece bailout
TALLINN (Reuters) – Estonia, hailed as a poster child of fiscal prudence, is open to aiding Greece with a third bailout and helping other troubled euro zone nations, its prime minister said on Thursday.
Myanmar’s Suu Kyi says Polish path to democracy inspired her
WARSAW (Reuters) – Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi told Polish democracy champion Lech Walesa on Thursday that she was inspired by how Poland had peacefully ended authoritarian rule and hoped her homeland would follow the same path to freedo…
