U.S., Russian diplomats to meet next Wednesday to discuss Syria
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senior U.S. and Russian diplomats will meet in The Hague next Wednesday to discuss ending Syria’s two-year civil war, the State Department said on Thursday, in what would be the first such meeting since reports of a deadly chemic…
Colombia’s Santos seeks referendum to pave way for peace deal
BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said he will send a bill to Congress seeking to hold a referendum on a hoped-for peace deal with the Marxist FARC group on the same day as national elections, a sign that he sees an agreed end t…
U.N. presses Syria to allow gas attack inspection
BEIRUT/PARIS (Reuters) – The United Nations demanded Syria give its chemical weapons experts immediate access on Thursday to rebel-held Damascus suburbs where poison gas appears to have killed hundreds just a few miles from the U.N. team’s hotel.
Colombia’s farm protest has been infiltrated by FARC, government says
BOGOTA (Reuters) – A protest by thousands of Colombian farmers and truckers, which has blocked roads nationwide and become increasingly violent, has been infiltrated by Marxist FARC rebels, Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon said on Thursday.
Crashing markets spell trouble for India’s privatization plans
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The collapse of the rupee is derailing India’s hopes of raising more than $6 billion from the sale of stakes in state-run firms, jeopardizing a key plank of Finance Minister P.Chidambaram’s blueprint to reverse the country’s econo…
Fear of new showdown on Egypt streets in ‘Friday of martyrs’
CAIRO (Reuters) – Supporters of Egypt’s deposed president will stage a “Friday of martyrs” of mass protests, risking more potential bloodshed to show they can still claim the streets after a week in which hundreds were gunned down and their leaders jai…
Rockets from Lebanon fired at northern Israel; no casualties
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – A rare rocket barrage from Lebanon on Thursday deepened Israeli concern that al Qaeda-linked Islamist militants are opening a new front for confrontation with Israel.
U.N. peacekeepers in Congo ordered to protect civilians after city shelled
GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) – The head of the U.N. mission in Congo on Thursday ordered peacekeeping troops to act to protect civilians after shelling hit the city of Goma in renewed fighting between the army and M23 rebels.
Kenyan police warn of militant attacks in Mombasa over slain cleric
MOMBASA, Kenya (Reuters) – Al Qaeda-linked militants may be planning attacks in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa to mark the anniversary of the assassination of a Muslim cleric, police said on Thursday.
France arrests Congolese general for alleged 1999 massacre
PARIS (Reuters) – French authorities on Thursday arrested a Congolese general and put him under formal investigation for crimes against humanity over the 1999 disappearance of hundreds of refugees, a judicial source said.
