Brief news:
ROME (Reuters) - Italians go to the polls on Sunday in local elections that will be the biggest test for Prime Minister Matteo Renzi since his center-left Democratic Party (PD) triumphed in a vote for the European parliament a year ago.
Some 22 million voters will elect new governments in seven of Italy's 20 regions and more than 1,000 municipalities following a campaign dominated by corruption allegations against one of Renzi's most prominent candidates.
The 40-year-old premier needs a convincing result to maintain momentum for labor and education reforms which have met fierce resistance from trade unions, the political opposition and the left wing of his own PD.
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BOGUTA (Dispatches) - At least two rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have been killed in a gunfight with Colombian soldiers in the western department of Narino.
The military said in a statement on Saturday that the latest clash took place near the town of Tumaco, located about 605 kilometers (376 miles) southwest of the capital, Bogota.
The statement added that the body of one of the rebels was recovered but the other was "violently snatched away by the civilian populace.”
Soldiers also seized a grenade launcher, a mortar round, three handguns, and other munitions as well as 5.7 kilograms of cocaine paste from the scene of the skirmishes, the military said.
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TEHRAN (Press TV) - Schools have formally reopened in Nepal, following a devastating earthquake that killed thousands of people.
Tens of thousands of children returned to their classrooms on Sunday, marking the end of a school closure enforced by the government last month.
On April 25, the Asian country was rocked by an 8.1-magnitude earthquake. Nearly 9,000 people were killed and many others were injured or displaced.
Some schools were so badly damaged that the government had to build temporary classrooms with bamboo or tents. Some of these temporary schools were set up in soccer pitches of schools technically deemed "safe."
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BEIJING (dispatches) - Chinese authorities say they have dismantled 181 terrorist cells in the northwest of the country, while human rights groups argue that Beijing has carried out a harsh crackdown on its minority citizens in Xinjiang.
Beijing has jailed or detained hundreds of people in the largely Muslim region of Xinjiang, while scores of others have been sentenced to death over what China calls terror-related charges.
Beijing launched its operation "strike hard” on April 30 after 39 people were killed last May in a bloody market attack, which was attributed to Urumqi separatists in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, home to just over 10 million of the mainly Muslim Uighur minority.
Some 22 million voters will elect new governments in seven of Italy's 20 regions and more than 1,000 municipalities following a campaign dominated by corruption allegations against one of Renzi's most prominent candidates.
The 40-year-old premier needs a convincing result to maintain momentum for labor and education reforms which have met fierce resistance from trade unions, the political opposition and the left wing of his own PD.
-------------------------------------------------------
BOGUTA (Dispatches) - At least two rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have been killed in a gunfight with Colombian soldiers in the western department of Narino.
The military said in a statement on Saturday that the latest clash took place near the town of Tumaco, located about 605 kilometers (376 miles) southwest of the capital, Bogota.
The statement added that the body of one of the rebels was recovered but the other was "violently snatched away by the civilian populace.”
Soldiers also seized a grenade launcher, a mortar round, three handguns, and other munitions as well as 5.7 kilograms of cocaine paste from the scene of the skirmishes, the military said.
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TEHRAN (Press TV) - Schools have formally reopened in Nepal, following a devastating earthquake that killed thousands of people.
Tens of thousands of children returned to their classrooms on Sunday, marking the end of a school closure enforced by the government last month.
On April 25, the Asian country was rocked by an 8.1-magnitude earthquake. Nearly 9,000 people were killed and many others were injured or displaced.
Some schools were so badly damaged that the government had to build temporary classrooms with bamboo or tents. Some of these temporary schools were set up in soccer pitches of schools technically deemed "safe."
----------------------------------------------------------
BEIJING (dispatches) - Chinese authorities say they have dismantled 181 terrorist cells in the northwest of the country, while human rights groups argue that Beijing has carried out a harsh crackdown on its minority citizens in Xinjiang.
Beijing has jailed or detained hundreds of people in the largely Muslim region of Xinjiang, while scores of others have been sentenced to death over what China calls terror-related charges.
Beijing launched its operation "strike hard” on April 30 after 39 people were killed last May in a bloody market attack, which was attributed to Urumqi separatists in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, home to just over 10 million of the mainly Muslim Uighur minority.