Pope, in Syria peace appeal, calls for end to spiral of death
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – A sombre-looking Pope Francis made an impassioned appeal to avert a widening of Syria’s conflict on Saturday, urging world leaders to pull humanity out of a “spiral of sorrow and death”.
Ousted Nasheed leads in Maldives vote after unrest, run-off looms
MALE (Reuters) – Partial presidential election results in the Maldives showed Mohamed Nasheed leading on Saturday, nearly 20 months after his removal from power ignited months of sometimes violent unrest.
Egypt army hits Sinai militants, at least 30 killed, injured: sources
CAIRO (Reuters) – The Egyptian army mounted a major operation against Islamist militants in North Sinai on Saturday, killing or wounding at least 30 people, security officials said.
Obama tells nation that Syria is ‘not another Iraq or Afghanistan’
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama told his war-weary country on Saturday that America needs to use limited military force in Syria to deter future chemical weapons attacks, but said he did not want to enter into another costly and protracte…
Conservative leader Abbott sweeps into power in Australian elections
SYDNEY/CANBERRA (Reuters) – Australia’s conservative leader Tony Abbott swept into office in national elections on Saturday as voters punished the outgoing Labor government for six years of turbulent rule and for failing to maximize the benefits of a n…
EU blames Assad for chemical attack in nuanced message
VILNIUS (Reuters) – The European Union on Saturday laid the blame for an August chemical attack in Syria on the government of President Bashar al-Assad, but stopped short of explicitly supporting a military response by the West.
Kerry urges EU to postpone funding ban in Israeli-occupied territories
VILNIUS (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged the European Union on Saturday to postpone a planned ban on EU financial assistance to Israeli organizations in the occupied Palestinian territories, a U.S. official said.
German police probe blackmail attempt on Merkel’s challenger
BERLIN (Reuters) – German police said they were investigating an apparent attempt to blackmail Peer Steinbrueck, the Social Democrats’ (SPD) challenger to Angela Merkel in this month’s federal election, over a cleaner employed by his wife 14 years ago….
Pro-Israel U.S. lobbying group sets major push for Syria action
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The influential pro-Israel American Israel Public Affairs Committee will deploy hundreds of activists next week to win support in Congress for military action in Syria, amid an intense White House effort to convince wavering U.S….
Tokyo reassures IOC over Fukushima fears
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe assured the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Saturday that radiation leaks at the Fukushima nuclear plant were under control and did not pose any health risks.
