Militants trapped in Raqqa center but Syrian Kurd commander sees long battle
RAQQA, Syria (Reuters) – U.S.-backed forces now have Islamic State fighters surrounded in central Raqqa, a Syrian Kurdish commander said, but he predicted that driving the militants out could take up to four months.
Kenyan election official says opposition victory claim ‘ridiculous’
NAIROBI/KISUMU, Kenya (Reuters) – Celebrations broke out in pockets of Kenya on Thursday after the opposition said its candidate Raila Odinga should be declared winner of the presidential vote, a claim an election commission official said was “ridiculo…
Suspect in hit-and-run on French soldiers unknown to spy agencies: source
PARIS (Reuters) – The Algerian national suspected of ploughing a hire car into a group of soldiers in a wealthy Paris suburb is believed to be unknown to French intelligence services and had no criminal record, a police source said on Thursday.
Fifty-five African migrants feared dead in second drowning incident off Yemen: U.N. agency
GENEVA (Reuters) – Some 180 Ethiopian and Somali migrants were forced into rough seas off Yemen by smugglers early on Thursday and 55 of them are presumed to have drowned, the U.N. migration agency said.
Turkey detains suspected Islamic State militant for planning to bring down U.S. plane: Dogan
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish authorities have detained a suspected Islamic State militant of Russian origin after he allegedly planned to use a drone to bring down a U.S. plane at the Incirlik air base, Dogan News Agency said on Thursday.
China seethes on sidelines amid latest North Korea crisis
BEIJING (Reuters) – Angered as the United States and its allies ignore Chinese calls to calm tensions over North Korea, and distracted by domestic concerns, China is largely sitting out the latest crisis with nuclear-armed Pyongyang.
U.S. destroyer challenges China’s claims in South China Sea
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. Navy destroyer carried out a “freedom of navigation operation” on Thursday, coming within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea, U.S. officials told Reuters.
Israel warns Hamas not to try to foil its anti-tunnel Gaza wall
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel warned Gaza’s Hamas rulers on Thursday not to try to foil its construction of a border wall designed to stop tunnels between the two sides.
No signs of manipulation of Kenya vote – EU observers
NAIROBI (Reuters) – The head of the European Union’s election observer mission in Kenya said on Thursday it had seen no signs of “centralised or localised manipulation” of the voting process.
Turkey limits border traffic at Syria crossing: customs minister
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey will limit the movement of non-humanitarian goods at the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Syria because the Syrian side is controlled by a “terrorist organisation”, Customs and Trade Minister Bulent Tufenkci said on Thursday.
