World

CAIRO (Reuters) – Saudi-led air strikes hit three military bases in the Yemeni capital Sanaa yesterday and the Yemeni government in exile expressed reservations about United Nations-led talks aimed at ending the eight-week war.

DUBLIN, (Reuters) – Ireland appears to have voted heavily in favour of allowing same-sex marriage in a historic referendum that marks a dramatic social shift in the traditionally Catholic country, government ministers and opponents of the bill said on Saturday.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Cuba and the United States reported making progress toward restoring diplomatic relations following two days of talks and pledged yesterday to continue informal negotiations in the coming weeks.

BOGOTA, (Reuters) – Colombia’s Marxist FARC rebels suspended a unilateral ceasefire after government troops killed 26 of its fighters, the guerrilla group said yesterday, a move that will likely ratchet up tension at peace talks to end five decades of war.

MEXICO CITY, (Reuters) – At least 42 people were killed yesterday in western Mexico in a gunfight between suspected gang members and security forces, two government officials said, the latest bloodshed in an area that has been plagued by violent drug gangs.

BRASILIA/RIO DE JANEIRO, (Reuters) – Brazil will freeze 69.9 billion reais ($22.58 billion) worth of spending on investment, education and health programs this year, limiting outlays in a bid to convince investors that President Dilma Rousseff is committed to saving the nation’s investment-grade rating.

BEIRUT, (Reuters) – Almost a year after Islamic State’s shock capture of Mosul, Iraq’s second city, the black flags of the jihadis have been raised over Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province to the west of Baghdad, seat of Iraq’s increasingly theoretical central government.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Talks between the United States and Cuba will go into a second day today as the sides try to reach agreement on reopening embassies shut for more than half a century, the crucial next step in their historic detente.

BEIRUT, (Reuters) – Islamic State fighters tightened their grip on the historic Syrian city of Palmyra yesterday and overran Iraqi government defences east of Ramadi, the provincial capital that they seized five days earlier.

GUATEMALA CITY, (Reuters) – Guatemala’s President Otto Perez announced a major cabinet reshuffle yesterday, firing several ministers after corruption scandals battered his government, fueling calls for him to step down.

(Reuters) – A grand jury has brought charges against six Baltimore police officers in the death of a black man who suffered fatal neck injuries while in police custody, a case that touched off angry protests and a day of looting and arson in the Maryland city.

NGOZI, Burundi, (Reuters) – In the Burundian president’s rural stronghold, his party’s youth wing dismisses the fears of those who have fled the east African nation that it is gathering arms and sharpening knives for a new bout of ethnic bloodletting.

TEGUCIGALPA, (Reuters) – Fabio Lobo, son of former Honduras president Porfirio Lobo, was arrested in an anti-drug operation in Haiti, with the help of the U.S.

DALLAS, (Reuters) – Boy Scouts of America President Robert Gates said yesterday the group’s ban on adult gay leaders needs to end, taking a step toward dismantling a policy that has caused deep rifts in the 105-year-old organization.

KUALA LUMPUR, (Reuters) – Malaysia and Indonesia said yesterday they would offer shelter to 7,000 “boat people” adrift at sea in rickety boats but made clear their assistance was temporary and they would take no more.

NEW YORK/LONDON, (Reuters) – Four major banks pleaded guilty yesterday to trying to manipulate foreign exchange rates and, with two others, were fined nearly $6 billion in another settlement in a global probe into the $5 trillion-a-day market.

BEIRUT, (Reuters) – Islamic State insurgents stormed the historic Syrian city of Palmyra yesterday, fighting off pro-government forces who withdrew after evacuating most of the civilian population, state television said.

KINSHASA (Reuters) – Millions of dollars were misused in the first phase of a project to build a national fiber optic network in Democratic Republic of Congo, a parliamentary mission has found.

GUATEMALA CITY, (Reuters) – Guatemala’s central bank governor was arrested yesterday in a bribery probe that also targeted a former aide of President Otto Perez, who has faced mounting pressure since his vice president quit two weeks ago over a separate graft scandal.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. assurances that Islamic State rebels were on the defensive even as they drove Iraqi forces from the key city of Ramadi are typical of the often unwarranted optimism that has characterized U.S.