World

(Reuters) – A gunman opened fire today at a community college in Oregon, killing 13 people and wounding some 20 others before he was shot to death by police, in the latest mass killing to rock a U.S.

(Reuters) – British Prime Minister David Cameron said his administration would not make reparations for the country’s role in the Caribbean slave trade, the BBC reported yesterday.

MOSCOW/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Russia launched air strikes in Syria yesterday in its biggest Middle East intervention in decades, plunging the four-year-old civil war into a volatile new phase as President Vladimir Putin moved forcefully to stake out influence in the unstable region.

LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – At least 10 million poor people face hunger this year and next because of droughts and erratic rains linked to record global temperatures and an expected “super” version of the evolving El Nino weather pattern, aid charity Oxfam has warned.

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s government has revised its economic data for 2014, showing that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) declined 4.0 percent in the worst performance around Latin America, according to a filing yesterday in the United States.

GENEVA, (Reuters) – Everyone with HIV should be given anti-retroviral drugs as soon as possible after diagnosis, meaning 37 million people worldwide should be on treatment, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today.

KABUL (Reuters) – Taliban fighters clashed with Afghan government forces near Kunduz airport yesterday, a day after the militants seized control of the northern city in arguably the biggest victory of their 14-year insurgency.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Russia’s military buildup in Syria appears to have forced US President Barack Obama to two unpalatable conclusions: He cannot ignore Moscow, and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may survive for some time.

OSLO (Reuters) – Six African nations have agreed with donors on a plan to protect the tropical forests of the Congo basin, the second biggest in the world after the Amazon’s, to help ease poverty and combat climate change.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Japan’s prime minister said yesterday that his country would provide some $1.6 billion to assist Syrians and Iraqis displaced by conflict and for building peace across the Middle East and Africa.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union’s dream of building “a ring of friends” from the Caucasus to the Sahara has turned into a nightmare as conflicts beyond its borders send refugees teeming into Europe.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed yesterday to direct their militaries to hold talks to avoid conflict over potential operations in Syria, a US official said.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – US President Barack Obama announced yesterday that more than 50 countries have pledged some 40,000 peacekeepers for possible deployment on United Nations missions, as well as helicopters, medical units and training and equipment to deal with roadside bombs.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US President Barack Obama and France and Britain’s leaders yesterday, and called for a climate change agenda from upcoming global talks in Paris that helps developing countries with access to finance and technology.

LONDON (Reuters) – The first patient has been treated in Britain in a pioneering trial of a new treatment co-developed by Pfizer and derived from embryonic stem cells designed for patients with a condition that can cause blindness.

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) – Pope Francis waited until his historic US visit was over to make his most direct comments on the nation’s debate over gay marriage, saying government officials should have the right to refrain from actions that violate their religious beliefs.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Organization of American States (OAS) said yesterday it will create a mission to tackle graft in Honduras, where protestors have been pushing for an anti-corruption body like one that helped bring down the president of neighbouring Guatemala.

CHICAGO, (Reuters) – Alcoa Inc, which has been hurt by falling prices for aluminum, its core product, said today it would split into two publicly traded entities as its traditional operations and higher-value and automotive businesses were diverging and no longer compatible.

OTTAWA (Reuters) – With Canada’s three main political parties all getting around 30 per cent support in polls, the odds of a period of political instability after the October 19 election are rising.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Russia ap-peared to seize the initiative in international efforts to end the conflict in Syria yesterday as Washington scrambled to devise a new strategy for the war-ravaged country and France sent warplanes to bomb Islamic State targets.