Author: Reuters
Zika link to birth defects could be proven within weeks: WHO
The suspected link between the Zika virus and two neurological disorders, the birth defect microcephaly and Guillain-Barre syndrome, could be confirmed within weeks, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on February 12.
US and Cuba to sign aviation pact on Feb 16
Top US officials will travel to Havana on Feb. 16 to sign an aviation pact that restores scheduled airline service between the United States and Cuba for the first time in more than 50 years, the US Transportation Department said on February 12.
Saudi warns UN, aid workers to leave rebel-held areas in Yemen
Saudi Arabia, which is leading air strikes against rebels in neighboring Yemen, has warned the United Nations and international aid groups to protect staff by removing them from areas held by Yemen's Houthi rebels, according to a letter that was seen by Reuters on February 11.
Russia boosts ties with Iraq
Russia is ready to sell civil airliners to Iraq and keep providing it with military aid to fight Islamic State, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on February 11, accompanied on a trip to Baghdad by the biggest Russian delegation in years.
Major powers agree to plan for 'cessation of hostilities' in Syria
Major powers agreed on February 12 to a cessation of hostilities in Syria set to begin in a week and to provide rapid humanitarian access to besieged Syrian towns, but failed to secure a complete ceasefire or an end to Russian bombing.
Syrian Kurdish forces said to capture most of rebel-held former military airport
Kurdish-led fighters aided by Russian bombing captured a rebel-held former Syrian military airport near the border with Turkey, a monitor and rebels said on February 11.
Female suicide bombers kill over 60 people in northeast Nigeria
Two female suicide bombers killed more than 60 people at a camp for people displaced by an insurgency of the jihadist Boko Haram group in the northeast Nigerian town of Dikwa, military and emergency officials said on February 10.
Russia, pressed to end Syria bombing, proposes March truce
World powers pressed Russia on February 10 to stop bombing around Aleppo in support of a Syrian government offensive to recapture the city and a Western official said Moscow had presented a proposal envisaging a truce in three weeks' time.
French plan advances to strip passports from those convicted of terrorism
President Francois Hollande's plan to strip French citizenship from people convicted of terrorism passed a first hurdle on February 9 when the lower house of parliament backed controversial proposals introduced after Islamic extremists killed 130 people in Paris last November.
Damascus vows to recapture Aleppo from rebels
Damascus aims to secure Syria's border with Turkey and recapture the city of Aleppo with its latest military offensive, a top adviser to President Bashar al-Assad said on February 9.
