Agence France Presse
Latest stories
Did You Hear? Protestants Told To Stop Gossiping

Canada's largest Protestant denomination is urging congregants to stop gossiping, likening the chatter to gambling and "other evils of society."

"Gossip can cause people to lose their jobs and their good reputations," according to a motion under consideration at the United Church of Canada's 41st general council, held August 11-18 in Ottawa.

W140 Full Story
Swedish Embassy in Minsk Says It Has Received Threat

Sweden's embassy in Minsk has received a threat against Swedish nationals in Belarus, following the recent expulsion of the Swedish ambassador and diplomats, the foreign ministry said Sunday.

"The Swedish embassy has received a threat aimed at Swedes in general in Belarus," the embassy wrote on its webpage.

W140 Full Story
Syria Refugees Fear Long Stay as French Aid Reaches Jordan

French military medics started on Sunday to set up a field hospital at Jordan's main camp for Syrian refugees, as residents expressed fear that their stay could turn into a long one.

Refugees gathered to watch 85 French medical officers assemble the hospital of 30 large khaki tents as well as 80 tons of medical equipment and aid supplies at the desert camp outside the city of Mafraq in northern Jordan.

W140 Full Story
Romney Vows to Restore U.S. Strength as Dems Counter-Attack

Republican candidate Mitt Romney vowed to restore American strength and avert "fiscal calamity" Sunday, as his re-energized presidential campaign drew a furious Democratic response.

With campaign battle lines re-forming, surrogates for President Barack Obama took to Sunday talk shows to cast Romney and his new running mate, Paul Ryan, as bent on dismantling cherished entitlements like public health insurance and pensions for seniors.

W140 Full Story
Aleppo Battle Rages as Both Sides Report Atrocities

The Syrian army pressed its assault on rebels in commercial capital Aleppo on Sunday, as both sides reported atrocities.

The exiled opposition said pro-government militia had executed 10 civilians in a roundup in the flashpoint central city of Homs, while the official SANA news agency reported the murder of one of its staff, in the latest case of a pro-government journalist being killed.

W140 Full Story
Northern 'Liberated' Syrian City Lives in Post-Assad Mode

Residents of the northern Syrian city of Aazaz, "liberated" by the rebels three weeks ago, are already living a post Bashar Assad reality with a military and a political council running daily life.

"When the fighting ended, there was nothing. No water, no electricity, nothing to eat," Samir Hajj Omar, head of a new political council in Aazaz which is striving to organize for a post-Assad rule.

W140 Full Story
Israel Sniper to Get 45 days over Gaza War Shooting

An Israeli soldier implicated in the killing of two Gaza women carrying a white flag faces a 45-day jail term under a plea bargain approved by a military court on Sunday, local media said.

The sniper, identified by Israeli media as "staff sergeant S," was charged with manslaughter in 2010 over the fatal shooting of an unnamed individual, which Palestinian witnesses linked to the killing of 64-year-old Riyeh Abu Hajaj and her daughter Majda Abu Hajaj, 37, during Israel's "Cast Lead" Gaza offensive.

W140 Full Story
Tens of Thousands Gather for Peace Rally in Mali

Up to 60,000 people gathered Sunday for a giant peace rally in Mali, a country split in two after Islamists wrested control of northern desert regions after a March coup in the capital Bamako.

The meeting for "national peace and reconciliation" in Bamako's main stadium was called by the country's top Muslim body and drew several key politicians including Prime Minister Cheikh Modibo Diarra.

W140 Full Story
Young Iraqi Dies in Greek Hate Attack

A young Iraqi was knifed to death overnight in Athens by five men in the latest hate attack in Greece, police said Sunday.

The police said the men were travelling on four motorbikes and had earlier "tried to attack a Romanian and a Moroccan in the same area."

W140 Full Story
Sudan Floods Kill 32, Destroy Thousands of Homes

Unusually intense rainy-season flooding has killed 32 people and destroyed thousands of homes around Sudan, the interior ministry said on Sunday.

The deaths were recorded since the start of the rainy season in mid-June, the ministry said in a report.

W140 Full Story