Syria war imperils education of 2.5 million children: aid agency
LONDON (Reuters) – More than a fifth of Syria’s schools have been destroyed or made unusable in more than two years of conflict, jeopardizing the education of 2.5 million young people, Save The Children aid agency reported on Friday,
More residents return to devastated Canadian town, more bodies found
LAC-MEGANTIC, Quebec (Reuters) – Provincial and municipal leaders lashed out on Thursday at the company whose runaway train leveled the center of a tiny Quebec town as more residents returned home and officials opened up a site for tributes to the 50 p…
Syrian bid for U.N. rights body criticized, Iran withdrew
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Syrian plans to run for a spot on the U.N. Human Rights Council met with sharp criticism from the United States and Israel on Thursday, while Tehran announced it had withdrawn its candidacy for the world body’s rights watchdo…
UK parliament wins veto over any decision to arm Syrian rebels
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s parliament backed a motion on Thursday requiring Prime Minister David Cameron to give it a veto over any future move to arm Syrian rebels, in a symbolic vote the government said it would heed.
Russia slams West’s ‘propaganda storm’ on Syria chemical arms
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Russia’s U.N. envoy on Thursday sharply criticized what he described as Western nations’ “small propaganda storm in a glass of water” regarding allegations that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons against its own …
U.S. lawmakers may ease ‘coup’ ban on aid to Egypt
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers will begin to vote as soon as next week on legislation that could continue aid to Egypt even if the Obama administration determines that the ouster of elected President Mohamed Mursi was a military coup, lawmakers …
U.N. urges peacekeepers to redeploy to focus on South Sudan hot spots
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The U.N. Security Council urged peacekeepers in South Sudan to quickly move more troops and equipment to volatile areas like the eastern state of Jonglei to better protect civilians as it renewed the U.N. mission on Thursday …
Raped 11-year-old Chilean should be allowed to abort: Amnesty
SANTIAGO (Reuters) – A pregnant 11-year-old Chilean girl who was allegedly raped by her stepfather should be granted all medical options, including the right to abort, rights group Amnesty International said on Thursday.
Al Qaeda kills Free Syrian Army commander: FSA spokesman
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Militants linked to al Qaeda in Syria killed a senior figure in the Western- and Arab-backed Free Syrian army on Thursday, an FSA source said, signaling a widening rift between Islamists and more moderate elements in the armed Syrian…
Egypt welcomes U.S. remarks on Mursi; food stocks dwindle
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s interim rulers welcomed on Thursday remarks from the U.S. State Department describing the rule of toppled leader Mohamed Mursi as undemocratic, read in Cairo as a signal that Washington will not cut off its $1.5 billion in ann…
