International

Ukraine PM tells army to be on full battle alert despite ceasefire

By Richard Balmforth KIEV Wed Sep 17, 2014 4:57pm EDT (Reuters) – Ukraine’s prime minister told government forces to remain on full battle alert on Wednesday as fighting in the rebel-held eastern city of Donetsk killed at least two civilians and further strained a ceasefire with Russian-backed separatists. “Russia definitely will not give us either peace or stability. It is not their goal. So I am asking the defense minister for full battle readiness,” Arseny […]

Nuclear deal elusive as Iran, six powers resume talks in New York

By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS Wed Sep 17, 2014 7:06pm EDT (Reuters) – A diplomatic breakthrough is unlikely on a nuclear deal to end sanctions against Iran when talks resume in New York this week between Tehran and six world powers deadlocked after a year of negotiations. The talks between Iran and the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China are re-starting after a two-month hiatus and amid Washington and Tehran ruling out cooperation […]

U.S. advisers may take forward positions in Iraq fighting

By Jeff Mason MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE Fla. Wed Sep 17, 2014 6:48pm EDT (Reuters) – Some U.S. military advisers could end up in front-line positions in the fight against Islamic State militants, the White House said on Wednesday, although President Barack Obama vowed that America would not fight another ground war in Iraq. The House of Representatives gave a green light to a key plank of Obama’s strategy against Islamic State, approving authorization for […]

67 dead in Nigeria church collapse, says Zuma

(Reuters) — President Jacob Zuma on Tuesday (September 16) said at least 67 South Africans died in Friday’s accident in Lagos and described it as one of the worst tragedies in South Africa’s recent history. “It is a very sad day today, to us a country for losing so many of our people. 67 so far that has been identified who were part of the church service at Synagogue church in Nigeria.” he said. As many as 300 South Africans were […]

Wildfire rips through 150 homes in Northern California

(Reuters) – Fire crews in California battled on Tuesday to halt the advance of wildfire that has already destroyed about 150 homes, lapped at rural schools and caused power outages that left an evacuation shelter without electricity, authorities said. The day-old blaze, one of about a dozen major fires raging across the drought-parched state, prompted authorities to order the evacuation of about 1,000 households in and around the Northern California town of Weed, which has […]

6.7 magnitude quake strikes Guam

A 6.7 magnitude quake struck Guam on Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 17, with a depth of 136.7 kilometers, according to the US Geological Survey. The quake occurred some 45 kilometers northwest of Piti Village in Guam, the USGS reported. “A destructive tsunami was not generated because this earthquake is located too deep inside the earth,” the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said. “There were no reports of structural damage,” said a statement from the Office of the […]

Reconstruction work in Gaza Strip

According to UN Middle East envoy Robert Serry, the Palestinian authority would be given the lead role in the reconstruction work while UN will provide security, After the 50-day battle, the Gaza Strip will need 7.8 billion dollars for repairs.

Brazil’s Rousseff slips in poll ahead of October election

BRASILIA Tue Sep 16, 2014 8:10pm EDT (Reuters) – President Dilma Rousseff has lost ground to her main challenger, Marina Silva, less than three weeks before Brazil’s presidential election, which will likely be decided in a close second-round runoff, a poll showed on Tuesday. The survey by the Ibope polling firm said support for Silva, a renowned environmentalist, has remained unchanged at 43 percent, but Rousseff has slipped two percentage points to 40 percent since […]

Chinese envoy says North Korea’s Kim Jong Un may visit Beijing: Yonhap

SEOUL Tue Sep 16, 2014 11:55pm EDT (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un could go to China on his first foreign trip since taking power, China’s ambassador to South Korea said on Wednesday, according to a report from South Korea’s Yonhap news agency. The 31-year-old leader assumed power after his father, Kim Jong Il, died suddenly in 2011. China is North Korea’s closest ally and main benefactor. “I think that a visit from […]

U.S. general says cannot rule out larger ground role in Iraq

By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON Tue Sep 16, 2014 7:00pm EDT (Reuters) – The most senior U.S. military officer raised the possibility on Tuesday that American troops might need to take on a larger role in Iraq’s ground war against Islamic State militants, but the White House stressed they would not deploy on a combat mission. General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said there was no intention now to place […]

Citing security threat, Obama expands U.S. role fighting Ebola

(Reuters) – President Barack Obama on Tuesday called West Africa’s deadly Ebola outbreak a looming threat to global security and announced a major expansion of the U.S. role in trying to halt its spread, including deployment of 3,000 troops to the region. “The reality is that this epidemic is going to get worse before it gets better,” Obama said at the Atlanta headquarters of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “But, right now, the […]