Syrian government forces press attack on Damascus outskirts: monitors, medic
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian government forces fired rockets at a rebel-held area on Damascus’s outskirts on Sunday, pressing an attack that began the day before and has killed up to 16 people, a medical worker and war monitors said.
Italy’s Renzi defies foes, opens way for party leadership battle
ROME (Reuters) – Former Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi resigned as head of the ruling Democratic Party (PD) on Sunday, opening the way for a leadership fight in which he will take on rivals threatening to split the center-left.
Senators look to new sanctions against Iran for missile development
MUNICH (Reuters) – U.S. Republican senators plan to introduce legislation to impose further sanctions on Iran, accusing it of violating U.N. Security Council resolutions by testing ballistic missiles and acting to “destabilise” the Middle East, a U.S. …
France’s Melenchon says he would hike spending by 273 billion euros
PARIS (Reuters) – French hard-left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon would raise spending by 273 billion euros ($290 billion), his team said in a presentation online on Sunday.
A year ago, Israel, Jordan and Egypt secretly met for peace: report
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met secretly a year ago with the leaders of Egypt and Jordan in a failed attempt by the Obama administration to convene a wider regional summit on Israeli-Palestinian peace, Israel’s Haaretz daily…
Islamic State posts video of man it says was Egypt church bomber
CAIRO (Reuters) – Islamic State published a video on Sunday threatening Egyptian Christians and showing the last statement of a man it said was responsible for the deadly bombing in December of a Coptic cathedral in Cairo.
Iraq launches offensive on last Islamic State stronghold in Mosul
BAGHDAD/ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) – U.S.-backed Iraqi forces on Sunday launched a ground offensive to dislodge Islamic State militants from the western part of the city of Mosul, and put an end to their ambitions for territorial rule in Iraq.
Explosion near Bogota bullring injures at least 31 people
BOGOTA (Reuters) – An explosion near Bogota’s bullring injured at least 31 people, most of them police officers as they prepared for protests in Colombia’s capital on Sunday, the mayor’s office said.
Germany’s SPD moves ahead of Merkel’s party in poll
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s center-left Social Democrats (SPD) have moved ahead of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) in an opinion poll by the Emnid institute for the first time since 2006, Bild am Sonntag newspaper…
Schaeuble denies ‘Grexit’ threat, says Greece on right path
BERLIN (Reuters) – German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble denied on Sunday that he had said Greece would have to leave the euro zone if it failed to implement economic reforms.
