Libyans flee by boat amid ‘terrible’ violence at home
ABOARD SEEFUCHS RESCUE SHIP (Reuters) – Just before the sun dipped into the Mediterranean on Saturday, rescuers spotted a tiny wooden boat on the horizon. It turned out to contain five young Libyans fleeing violence and turmoil who were waving their ar…
Syria fighting worst since Aleppo, air strikes deadly: aid agencies
GENEVA (Reuters) – Syria is in the throes of its worst fighting since the battle for eastern Aleppo last year, with heavy air strikes causing hundreds of civilian casualties, aid agencies said on Thursday.
Russia, Saudi Arabia cement new friendship with king’s visit
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Saudi Arabia’s King Salman for talks at the Kremlin on Thursday, cementing a relationship that is pivotal for world oil prices and could decide the outcome of the conflict in Syria.
Germany drops mass U.S., UK spying probe on lack of evidence
BERLIN (Reuters) – German prosecutors have closed an investigation into suspected mass phone tapping of German citizens by British and U.S. spies after finding no concrete indication of any criminal activity, they said on Thursday.
Hacking attacks: a pre-election setback for Italy’s 5-Star Movement
ROME (Reuters) – Hacking attacks on the web platform used by Italy’s 5-Star Movement to select representatives and shape policy threaten to dent confidence in its methods before a parliamentary election it is well placed to win.
French, Nigerien forces operating where three U.S. soldiers killed
NIAMEY (Reuters) – French and Nigerien troops were conducting operations on Thursday in a region of Niger where three U.S. Army Special Forces members were killed the day before, becoming the first American soldiers to die in West Africa in decades.
Two hurt after report of explosion near Glasgow, Scotland
LONDON (Reuters) – Two people were injured on Thursday, police said, after a report of an explosion near the Scottish town of Glasgow.
Saudi Arabia agrees to buy Russian s-400 air defense system: Arabiya TV
RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia has agreed to buy Russian S-400 air defense system, Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television reported on Thursday, on the sidelines of a visit by Saudi King Salman to Moscow.
Islamic State driven out of last stronghold in northern Iraq
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi forces announced on Thursday they had captured Islamic State’s last stronghold in northern Iraq, leaving the militant group holed up near the Syrian border as its self-proclaimed “caliphate” shrinks further.
Hamas picks new deputy chief whom Israel blames for helping spark Gaza war
GAZA (Reuters) – The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas named as its new deputy chief on Thursday a formerly Turkey-based commander whom Israel has accused of orchestrating a lethal triple kidnapping that helped trigger the 2014 Gaza war.
