North Korea missile detected by THAAD, program progressing faster than expected: South Korea
SEOUL/GENEVA (Reuters) – North Korea’s missile program is progressing faster than expected, South Korea’s defense minister said on Tuesday, after the U.N. Security Council condemned the weekend launch of a new long-range missile and demanded Pyongyang …
Evacuation deal completed as Syrian rebels leave Damascus district: state TV, monitor
BEIRUT (Reuters) – An agreement between the Syrian government and rebels to evacuate an opposition-held district of Damascus was completed on Monday as more insurgents left the area, Qaboun, Syrian state TV and a monitoring group said.
France’s Macron picks PM from the right, blowing apart old boundaries
PARIS (Reuters) – Newly inaugurated French President Emmanuel Macron appointed a conservative prime minister on Monday in a move to broaden his political appeal and weaken his opponents before parliamentary elections in June.
U.N. restarts Syria talks with fresh format, same challenges
GENEVA (Reuters) – Syria peace talks in Geneva this week should prosper from a tighter format and a recent deal to reduce the violence, U.N. mediator Staffan de Mistura said on Monday, playing down dismissive comments by President Bashar al-Assad.
U.S. plan to arm Kurdish militia casts shadow over Trump-Erdogan talks
ANKARA (Reuters) – Angered by a U.S. decision to arm Kurdish YPG fighters in Syria, Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan heads to Washington this week for talks with Donald Trump seeking either to change the president’s mind or to “sort things out ourselv…
On both sides of Turkish border, peace with Kurds in ruins
SIRNAK, Turkey (Reuters) – The rise of a Kurdish militia in Syria over the course of the Syrian civil war has expanded Turkey’s 30-year Kurdish conflict beyond its frontiers and, to some degree, beyond its control. In few places is this as evident as i…
Putin blames off-key piano for hesitant musical rendition
BEIJING (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday an impromptu piano rendition he gave on the sidelines of a meeting in Beijing had been hampered by an out of tune instrument.
U.S., EU to meet on airline security on Wednesday: EU Commission
BRUSSELS/PARIS (Reuters) – European Union and U.S. officials will meet on Wednesday to discuss airline security, including a possible extension of a ban on passengers carrying laptops in aircraft cabins, a European Commission spokesman said.
Iraqi forces push for Mosul victory before Ramadan
MOSUL/BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi forces battled to retake districts of western Mosul still under Islamic State control on Monday, in an attempt to seize victory before the holy month of Ramadan.
Air strikes target Islamic State in eastern Syria, kill 23 – monitor
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Dawn air strikes on a Syrian border town in the Islamic State-held eastern province of Deir al-Zor killed 23 people, most of them civilians, a war monitoring group said on Monday.
