Iraq aims to drive Islamic State from west Mosul within a month
SULAIMANIYA/MOSUL (Reuters) – Iraqi forces aim to dislodge Islamic State militants from west Mosul within a month, despite grueling urban combat in densely populated terrain, the head of the elite Counter Terrorism Service told Reuters on Thursday.
Austrian lawmaker says Austrian Erdogan critics deported from Turkey
VIENNA (Reuters) – An Austrian opposition lawmaker said on Thursday five Austrian citizens who made critical comments about Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan had been held at Turkish airports and deported.
Syrian force a ‘few weeks’ from Raqqa, U.S. Marines deployed
BEIRUT (Reuters) – U.S.-backed Syrian forces said on Thursday they were closing in on Islamic State-held Raqqa and expected to reach the city outskirts in a few weeks, as a U.S. Marines artillery unit deployed to help the campaign.
Germany’s Gabriel, in Moscow, warns of risk of new arms race
MOSCOW (Reuters) – German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel on Thursday warned about the danger of a new arms race spiral with Russia and called on all sides to work to end the violence in eastern Ukraine as a first step towards broader disarmament effor…
Philippines’ Duterte pleads with mayors to stop extremists, threatens martial law
MANILA (Reuters) – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday pleaded for help from mayors in Muslim parts of the south to deal with Islamist militants, and threatened to impose martial law there if the problem is not tackled.
Philippine ‘death squad’ member not afraid of Duterte, says more will speak out
MANILA (Reuters) – A former policeman who confessed to being part of a “death squad” under Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday said he did not fear him, and believed four other members of his alleged hit team would come forward to testify….
Turkish tensions with Europe risk spilling into Switzerland
ZURICH (Reuters) – Neutral Switzerland risks getting swept up in Turkey’s political row with European countries as Swiss authorities weigh how to handle Turks’ requests for asylum and a call to ban a rally on Sunday by Turkey’s foreign minister.
Warplanes kill seven, injure 70 in Syria’s Deir al-Zor: Observatory
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Air strikes pounded a town in the eastern Syrian province of Deir al-Zor on Thursday, killing seven civilians and injuring more than 70 others, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Fatal Belgian rail accident caused by speeding train: prosecutors
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – A Belgian railway accident that killed one person last month was the result of the train traveling at more than double the speed limit, prosecutors said on Thursday.
One of China’s ‘most-wanted’ fugitives returns from U.S. to surrender
BEIJING (Reuters) – A former employee of a state-owned newspaper who figured among China’s 100 “most-wanted” fugitives has returned from the United States to turn himself in, the top anti-graft body said on Thursday, as China mapped out its strategy on…
