Syrian foes in ‘half-steps’ of talks

Syrian foes in ‘half-steps’ of talks

GENEVA

In painstakingly choreographed encounters, Syria’s government and opposition faced each other for the first time Saturday, buffered by a U.N. mediator hoping to guide them to a resolution of the country’s devastating civil war.

The antagonists sat at the same table for nearly three hours but didn’t address each other directly — and by design avoided the contentious issue of who will lead the country. They entered through separate doors and, outside the walls of the United Nations, had little but criticism for each other.

No tangible progress was reported, but the mere fact the meeting took place represented what the mediator called a “half-step” toward peace.

281 passengers ill aboard cruise ship

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 281 passengers have fallen ill aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship.

The CDC said in a statement Friday that an additional 22 crew members also are ill, with people reporting vomiting and diarrhea. Authorities said it’s not yet clear what is causing the illness.

The CDC said health officials will board the ship today while it’s docked in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Authorities said specimens are being collected and will be tested.

A total of 3,050 passengers and 1,165 crew members are aboard the Explorer of the Seas.

Hospital: No decision on end of life support

FORT WORTH, Texas

Executives from a Texas hospital conferred with the county district attorney’s office Saturday to determine their next step, after a judge ordered the hospital to remove a pregnant, brain-dead woman from life support.

Officials from John Peter Smith Hospital and the Tarrant County district attorney’s office, which is representing the county-owned hospital, met to discuss Judge R. H. Wallace Jr.’s order regarding Marlise Munoz, hospital spokeswoman J.R. Labbe said. She declined to say whether a possible appeal was being discussed, but said an announcement wouldn’t come Saturday.

Both the hospital and family agree that Marlise Munoz meets the criteria to be considered brain-dead — which means she is dead both medically and under Texas law — and that her fetus could not be born alive this early in pregnancy. But the hospital says it’s obligated to protect the fetus, while Munoz’s husband, Erick Munoz, says his wife wouldn’t have wanted to be kept in this condition. His attorneys have said medical records show the fetus is “distinctly abnormal.”

Official: Hollande splits with first lady

PARIS

French President Francois Hollande has split with the country’s first lady two weeks after a tabloid reported that the leader was having an affair with an actress, an official said Saturday.

A presidential aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly about the matter, confirmed that Hollande ended his seven-year relationship with Valerie Trierweiler.

The breakup was first reported by French news agency Agence France Presse, which said Hollande told it in a telephone conversation Saturday evening that “I make it known that I have put an end” to the relationship with Trierweiler.

He and Trierweiler have lived together since 2007, and though they’re unmarried, Trierweiler occupied the so-called madame wing of the presidential palace, traveled abroad with Hollande and functioned as the first lady.

Associated Press