Pair of quakes rattle central Italy

ROME — A pair of aftershocks shook central Italy late Wednesday, just two months after a powerful earthquake killed nearly 300 people.

One person was injured in the epicenter of Visso, where the rubble of collapsed buildings tumbled into the streets. But the Civil Protection agency, which initially reported two injured, had no other immediate reports of injuries or deaths.

“It was an unheard-of violence. Many houses collapsed,” Ussita Mayor Marco Rinaldi told Sky TG24. Mr. Rinaldo said two elderly people were rescued from their home, where they were trapped. He said they appeared to be in good condition. Some 200 people in Ussita will sleep in the streets.

U.S. abstains on Cuba vote

UNITED NATIONS — The United States abstained for the first time in 25 years Wednesday on a U.N. resolution condemning America’s economic embargo against Cuba, a measure it had always vehemently opposed.

The U.S. was joined in abstaining by Israel, the only other country to vote against the embargo resolution in the General Assembly last year. When the vote was shown on the electronic board, diplomats from the 193 U.N. member states burst into applause.

U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power announced the abstention just before the vote saying that the U.S. policy of isolation toward Cuba had “isolated the United States, including here at the United Nations.”

The U.S. decision to change its vote follows President Barack Obama’s restoration of full diplomatic relations with Cuba and his support for lifting the embargo.

Gambia plans to leave ICC

DAKAR, Senegal — Gambia has become the third African nation to say it will leave the International Criminal Court, deepening fears of a mass pullout from the body that pursues the world’s worst atrocities.

In announcing the decision Tuesday on national television, Gambia accused the court of unfairly targeting Africa and calling it the “International Caucasian Court for the persecution and humiliation of people of color, especially Africans.”

Philippine, Japanese deals

TOKYO — The leaders of Japan and the Philippines agreed Wednesday to cooperate in promoting regional peace and stability, and acknowledged the importance of their alliances with the U.S., although a statement focused largely on Japan’s contribution to Philippine maritime security and other projects totaling a 21 billion yen loan.

In a news conference, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, after his first round of talks with Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, said he expected Japan to continue being an important part of maritime security in the region, including the South China Sea, where Manila and Beijing have overlapping claims.

Earlier Wednesday, Mr. Duterte said he wants his country to be free of foreign troops, possibly within two years.

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An Afghan woman whose photograph as a young refugee with piercing green eyes was published on the cover of National Geographic in 1985, becoming a symbol of the turmoil of war in Afghanistan, is facing charges in Pakistan of fraudulently obtaining national identity cards . ... In a race against the clock, the European Union edged closer Wednesday to being able to sign a free trade deal with Canada after Belgium made progress in lifting the veto of one of its regions.