Beirut / AFP Hundreds of sick or wounded Syrians and their families were being evacuated from besieged rebel- and regime-held towns for treatment on Thursday as relief efforts intensified even as peace talks falter. The evacuees, who were “in urgent need of life-saving medical attention,” according to the United Nations, were bussed out of their enclaves late on Wednesday …

  Brasília / AFP   Brazil’s Supreme Court dealt a new blow to embattled President Dilma Rousseff, postponing a decision on whether to let her influential predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, join her government. The latest delay on Wednesday leaves Lula, who was named chief of staff last month, in limbo while Rousseff’s own job hangs by a thread, …

  BUCHAREST / AP Ukraine’s president says sanctions against Russia must stay in place as long as hostilities in eastern Ukraine still continue. President Petro Poroshenko said he and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis agreed that “discussions related to cancelling sanctions imposed on Russia cannot take place until the aggression stops.” Security was the main focus of talks during Poroshenko’s one-day visit …