Colombia FARC pause talks to study referendum proposal
HAVANA (Reuters) – Colombia’s Marxist FARC rebels declared a pause in peace talks on Friday to take time to study a bill proposed by President Juan Manuel Santos that would call a referendum on any agreements that would bring an end to the five-decade …
Syrian opposition says will ensure safety of U.N. inspectors
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Syria’s opposition said on Friday it would ensure the safety of U.N. chemical weapons inspectors in areas of Syria it controls and said it was critical that they reached the site of an alleged gas attack near Damascus within 48 hou…
Smuggling bonanza on Turkish border as Syrian war drags on
KUSAKLI, Turkey (Reuters) – Each night, a stream of beaten-up cars and trucks weighed down with blue jerry cans rumbles along the muddy lane, ferrying fuel smuggled into Turkey from over the border in Syria.
China’s Bo calls wife mad after she testifies against him
JINAN, China (Reuters) – Fallen Chinese politician Bo Xilai called his wife insane after she testified at his landmark trial on Friday that he knew of money and a villa in the French Riviera that prosecutors say were given to the couple by a businessma…
China’s Bo calls wife mad after she testifies against him
JINAN, China (Reuters) – Fallen Chinese politician Bo Xilai called his wife insane after she testified at his landmark trial on Friday that he knew of money and a villa in the French Riviera that prosecutors say were given to the couple by a businessma…
A million Syrian child refugees is ‘shameful milestone’: U.N.
GENEVA (Reuters) – The number of Syrian children forced to flee their devastated homeland reached 1 million on Friday, half of all the refugees driven abroad by a conflict that shows no sign of ending, the United Nations said.
U.N. combat brigade fires on Congo rebel positions
GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) – A new U.N. combat brigade formed to try to neutralize armed groups in Congo by force if needed fired artillery at M23 rebels menacing the eastern border city of Goma anew, U.N. and Congolese military offic…
China arrests activist who campaigned about leaders’ wealth
BEIJING (Reuters) – Police have arrested one of China’s most prominent rights activists who has called for officials to disclose their wealth, his lawyer said on Friday, raising the stakes in the government’s crackdown on anti-graft campaigners.
U.N. refugee chief urges common sense in Australia asylum debate
GENEVA (Reuters) – The head of U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said on Friday he hopes common sense will prevail in Australia’s election-season debate about how the country treats asylum seekers.
India refinery partly shut after fire, one dead: source
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s Hindustan Petroleum Corp has shut part of its 166,000 barrel per day (bpd) Vizag refinery after a fire in the cooling tower, which killed one person and injured 33 others.
