Turkey-backed rebels close in on Islamic State-held Syrian city al-Bab
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey-backed rebels closed in on an Islamic State-held city in northern Syria on Friday, foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said, with Turkish tanks and warplanes supporting the assault.
Negligence trial in France casts shadow over IMF’s Lagarde
PARIS (Reuters) – IMF chief Christine Lagarde goes on trial on Monday for her role in a 400 million euro ($425 million) state payout to businessman Bernard Tapie in 2008 when she was France’s finance minister.
Schoolgirl suicide bombers kill 56 in Nigerian market: official
YOLA/BAUCHI, Nigeria (Reuters) – Two schoolgirl suicide bombers killed 56 people and wounded dozens more in a coordinated attack on a crowded market in the northeastern Nigerian town of Madagali on Friday, a local official said.
EU lawmaker to push for Britons to keep EU ‘citizenship’
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Parliament’s Brexit negotiator will propose that Britons can have “associate citizenship” of the EU once their country leaves, but senior officials have dismissed the idea as an unworkable gimmick.
Italy, Greece face off against easterners in EU migration feud
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Eastern European Union states remain at loggerheads with “frontline” countries such as Greece and Italy over sharing the burden of caring for asylum-seekers reaching EU frontiers, officials said on Friday.
Italian MPs’ eagerness for pensions may delay snap election, skeptics say
ROME (Reuters) – With hundreds of Italy’s lawmakers months away from qualifying for a life-long pension for less than five years’ work, skeptics say many of them hope to delay a snap election until their benefits are locked in.
Iraqi judo coach saved his black belt when Islamic State stormed Mosul club
GOGJALI, Iraq (Reuters) – His black belt and membership card were all that Iraqi judo coach Ali Mahmoud managed to save when Islamic State stormed his club in Mosul, turning the gym into an arms training camp for fighters.
U.N. to hold session on rights situation in South Sudan
GENEVA (Reuters) – The United Nations Human Rights Council will hold a special session on Dec. 14 on the situation in South Sudan at the request of about 40 countries led by the United States, a U.N. statement said on Friday.
Peace deal will help Colombia battle cocaine, president says
OSLO (Reuters) – Colombia’s peace deal with Marxist rebels will help the country battle the cocaine trade, President Juan Manuel Santos said on the eve of collecting a Nobel Peace Prize that he called a “gift from heaven”.
Turkish developer confident Syria wall in place by spring
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey will finish building a wall along its 900 km (560-mile) border with Syria by next April, the head of one of its main developers said on Friday, in an attempt by Ankara to prevent Islamic State from entering the country.
