Turkish court jails three for life over bombing of German tourists
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – A Turkish court sentenced three people to multiple life sentences on Wednesday in connection with a bombing that killed 12 German tourists in Istanbul two years ago.
U.S. defends role of Lebanon army as Israel threatens to attack it
TEL AVIV (Reuters) – The United States pledged continued support for Lebanon’s military on Wednesday, calling it a potential counterweight to Iranian-backed Hezbollah, even as Israel said the two forces were indistinguishable and fair game in any futur…
Kenyan TV stations to stay shut after covering opposition `inauguration’
NAIROBI (Reuters) – Three Kenyan TV stations will stay off the air indefinitely as the government investigates a “swearing in” of opposition leader Raila Odinga, the interior minister said on Wednesday, following the symbolic but direct challenge to Pr…
Ending North Korea oil supplies would be seen as act of war, says Russia
MOSCOW (Reuters) – The delivery of oil and oil products to North Korea should not be reduced, Moscow’s ambassador to Pyongyang was cited as saying by RIA news agency on Wednesday, adding that a total end to deliveries would be interpreted by North Kore…
Austria plans to dissolve fraternity at center of neo-Nazi scandal
VIENNA (Reuters) – Austria’s Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Wednesday the government would disband a fraternity over its anti-Semitic songbook amid growing calls for a prominent far-right politician to resign for having been the group’s deputy leade…
Egyptian court sentences 16 over Church raid: sources
CAIRO (Reuters) – An Egyptian court on Wednesday gave 15 people one-year suspended jail sentences over a December attack on an unlicensed Coptic Church in a village south of Cairo, judicial sources said.
German parties agree on pensions as coalition talks progress
BERLIN (Reuters) – Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives agreed with their would-be Social Democrat (SPD) partners on Wednesday to cap pension contributions, a sign of steady progress in coalition talks which both sides aim to conclude within a week…
Philippine graft agency chief defies Duterte’s suspension order
MANILA (Reuters) – The head of the Philippine anti-corruption agency on Wednesday said she would defy an order from President Rodrigo Duterte’s office suspending a deputy, saying the constitution guaranteed independence for the agency.
U.S. slaps sanctions on Laos Golden Triangle ‘casino’ in bid to break up narco-empire
HONG KONG (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury Department has slapped sanctions on a gambling empire hacked from the Laotian jungle which it said was involved in drug, human and wildlife trafficking and child prostitution.
South Yemen clashes abate as separatists cede bases
ADEN (Reuters) – Three days of deadly clashes between southern Yemeni separatists and an internationally recognized government based in the port of Aden subsided on Wednesday after fighters handed back two military bases they had seized, residents said…
