Aleppo district shows Assad’s delicate dance with Kurds
ALEPPO, Syria (Reuters) – Kurdish fighters wearing the blue eagle insignia of the Asayish security force stopped the taxi entering the Sheikh Maqsoud district in Aleppo, checking papers and searching for contraband.
Hypothetically speaking, U.S. Admiral says ready for nuclear strike on China if Trump so ordered
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – The U.S. Pacific Fleet commander, addressing a security conference in Australia, said in answer to a question on Thursday that he would be prepared to launch a nuclear strike on China if President Donald Trump so ordered.
Top Saudi appeals court upholds death sentences of 14 Shi’ites: paper
DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s top court has upheld the death sentences of 14 men convicted of armed attacks, all of them from the Sunni-ruled kingdom’s Shi’ite Muslim minority, a local newspaper reported on Thursday.
U.S. orders Venezuela embassy families out, crisis deepens
CARACAS (Reuters) – The U.S. government ordered family members of employees at its embassy in Venezuela to leave on Thursday as a political crisis deepened ahead of a controversial vote critics contend will end democracy in the oil-rich country.
Putin signs Syria base deal, cementing Russia’s presence there for half a century
MOSCOW (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin has signed a law ratifying a deal with the Syrian government allowing Russia to keep its air base in Syria for almost half a century, official documents show.
Economic euphoria propels Merkel towards fourth term
BERLIN (Reuters) – German consumer morale hit a 16-year high, data showed on Thursday, the latest piece of positive economic news to boost prospects for Chancellor Angela Merkel as she prepares to seek re-election in September elections.
EU warns of possible delays to Brexit talks, London confident of schedule
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Talks between Britain and the European Union on their future relationship are now less likely to start in October, the EU’s top negotiator has said, due to a lack of progress on Brexit divorce issues so far, EU officials said.
U.S.-trained Iraqi army unit committed war crimes in Mosul: HRW
ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) – A U.S.-trained Iraqi army division allegedly executed several dozen men in the final throes of the battle against Islamic State militants in Mosul’s Old City, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday.
Turkey opposition stages sit-in to protest changes to parliamentary procedure
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s main opposition staged a sit-in on Thursday to protest against proposed changes to parliamentary procedure that it says will restrict lawmakers’ ability to challenge President Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AK Party in the assembly…
France bans hiring of spouses by politicians in wake of Fillon scandal
PARIS (Reuters) – French politicians will no longer be allowed to employ their spouses or children as parliamentary assistants under rules adopted in response to a scandal involving former prime Minister Francois Fillon and his wife.
