Iraqi Christians return to ransacked town with fear and hope
QARAQOSH, Iraq (Reuters) – With Islamic State expelled, Iraqi Christians are trickling back to the ransacked town of Qaraqosh, beset by anxiety for their security and yet hopeful they can live in friendship with Muslims of all persuasions.
Russia to boycott Eurovision song contest due to Ukraine row
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s state broadcaster has said it will boycott this year’s Eurovision song contest after the host country, Ukraine, said it would bar entry to the Russian contestant and Moscow rejected two possible compromises suggested by the …
France’s Ayrault says Assad’s comments on Syria chemical attack are ‘lies’
BEIJING (Reuters) – French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on Friday dismissed as “lies and propaganda” comments by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that a poison gas attack blamed on his government last week in Idlib province was “100 percent fabri…
Uzbekistan says had warned West about Stockholm attack suspect
TASHKENT (Reuters) – Uzbekistan’s security services passed information on Rakhmat Akilov, the man accused of ramming a truck into a crowd of people in Stockholm last week, to the West before the deadly attack, Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov said on…
Noodles, not nukes: many in South Korea ignore tensions
SEOUL (Reuters) – Many South Koreans marked “Black Day” on Friday, but it had nothing to do with concerns that North Korea may conduct a weapons test, or that the United States, the South’s main ally, may launch a pre-emptive strike to stop it.
French judges ask for Le Pen’s parliamentary immunity to be lifted: source
PARIS (Reuters) – French judges investigating far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen’s alleged misuse of European Union funds to pay for party assistants have asked for her European parliamentary immunity to be lifted, a judicial source said on…
Syrian rebels, Shi’ite villagers evacuated from towns under swap deal
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Buses evacuated thousands of people from two rebel-besieged Shi’ite villages in northwest Syria on Friday and hundreds of rebels left a town near Damascus with their families, under a deal between the government and insurgents.
Vice President Pence heads to Seoul as North Korea tensions flare
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Vice President Mike Pence will travel to South Korea on Sunday in what his aides said was a sign of the U.S. commitment to its ally in the face of rising tensions over North Korea’s nuclear program.
Lavrov says Russia, U.S. agree U.S. strikes on Syria should not be repeated: Interfax
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia and the United States have a shared understanding that U.S. air strikes on Syria should not be repeated, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Moualem in Moscow on Thursday, Interfax news …
China’s Hebei vows to learn lessons from new graft probe
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – The Communist Party in China’s smog-hit Hebei province said it will “learn lessons” after one of its highest-ranking officials was placed under investigation for serious disciplinary violations, which usually serves as a code for c…
