U.S.-backed Syrian force expects to attack Tabqa soon
BEIRUT (Reuters) – U.S.-backed Syrian militias are expected to attack soon an Islamic State-held dam and air base west of the Syrian city of Raqqa, their spokesman said on Thursday, part of an accelerating campaign to capture the hardline group’s stron…
Erdogan says Bulgaria’s pressure on Turks ‘unacceptable’
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan slammed Bulgaria on Thursday for “putting pressure” on expatriate Turks living there ahead of a parliamentary election amid rising tension between the two neighbors.
Ukraine accuses Russia of ‘state terrorism’ after former MP shot
KIEV (Reuters) – Ukraine accused Russia of “state terrorism” after a former Russian lawmaker and key witness in a treason case against former leader Viktor Yanukovich was shot dead in broad daylight outside a hotel in central Kiev on Thursday.
U.N. says 300,000 civilians at risk in Damascus battle, pause needed
GENEVA (Reuters) – Fighting around Syria’s capital Damascus has cut 300,000 people off from humanitarian aid and pauses in the fighting are needed to let aid convoys in, Jan Egeland, U.N. humanitarian advisor on Syria, said in an interview on Thursday….
Frenchman kidnapped near Chad border with Sudan’s Darfur
PARIS/N’DJAMENA (Reuters) – A Frenchman was kidnapped in Chad in a remote region near the border with Sudan’s Darfur region early on Thursday, France’s foreign ministry said.
China says hopes new Japanese carrier doesn’t mark return to militarism
BEIJING (Reuters) – China said on Thursday that it hoped the entry into service of Japan’s second big helicopter carrier, the Kaga, did not mean a return to the country’s past militaristic history.
Soros-funded charities targeted by Trump-inspired crackdown in East Europe
BUDAPEST (Reuters) – When his government lost a lawsuit in the European Court of Human Rights last week over its detention and expulsion of two migrants from Bangladesh, Hungary’s rightwing prime minister blamed the usual suspect: a billionaire in New …
Child victims of Mosul battle fill emergency hospital
BARTELLA, Iraq (Reuters) – The 9-year-old Iraqi boy was playing football on a patch of wasteground during a lull in the battle for Mosul when a mortar round fired by Islamic State militants landed nearby. It sprayed shrapnel into his lower legs and vir…
Ten Egyptian soldiers killed in Sinai fighting: army
CAIRO (Reuters) – Ten members of Egypt’s security forces were killed when their vehicles were hit by two improvised bombs during a military operation against suspected militants in the Sinai peninsula, the army said on Thursday.
Exclusive: U.S. embassies ordered to identify population groups for tougher visa screening
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has directed U.S. diplomatic missions to identify “populations warranting increased scrutiny” and toughen screening for visa applicants in those groups, according to diplomatic cable…
