Syria’s Assad says taking Aleppo from rebels key to pushing ‘terrorists’ back to Turkey
MOSCOW/BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad said on Friday that the Syrian army’s capture of Aleppo, which has come under renewed bombardment in an effort to seize its rebel-held sector, would be “a very important springboard” to pushin…
Destitute migrants pile up in Djibouti as Yemen sends boats back
GENEVA (Reuters) – Thousands of Ethiopians trekking through desert heat and war in Yemen for the sake of a low-paid job in Saudi Arabia risk getting stuck in an overcrowded migrant camp in Djibouti, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) sa…
Turkey determined to play role in planned Mosul offensive: Erdogan
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey is determined to take part in a planned operation by coalition forces to oust Islamic State from the Iraqi city of Mosul and will implement a “plan B” if it is not involved, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.
Turkey raids top courts to arrest alleged coup plotters: agency
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Police raided Turkey’s top court of appeals on Friday, armed with arrest warrants for 189 judges and prosecutors, and swept on other courthouses as part of a crackdown on state officials following a failed coup, state media reporte…
Germany, Ukraine agree more talks needed before four-way summit
BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko agreed more talks were needed before a “Normandy format” summit on the Ukraine conflict could be held, the German government said.
Nigeria’s Buhari vows to keep pressing for release of kidnapped girls
BERLIN (Reuters) – Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday said his government would continue working to free the remaining girls kidnapped by the jihadist group Boko Haram in 2014 after the group on Thursday released 21 girls on Thursday.
Militants kill 12 military personnel in Egypt’s Sinai
ISMAILIA, Egypt (Reuters) – Suspected Islamic State gunmen killed 12 members of Egypt’s military in North Sinai province and wounded six more in an attack on a checkpoint on Friday, the military said, adding that it killed 15 militants in return.
Hungary tax authority raids NGO, rekindles fears of crackdown
BUDAPEST (Reuters) – Tax investigators raided the offices of Hungarian environmental group Energia Klub on Thursday, seizing hundreds of documents and computer files as part of what they said was a “criminal investigation into budgetary fraud”.
UK PM May rejects suggestion by EU’s Tusk that Brexit may not happen: spokeswoman
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain is committed to leaving the European Union, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Theresa May said on Friday, slapping down a suggestion from European Council President Donald Tusk that the country might ultimately change its mind…
Aleppo’s Jabhat Fateh al-Sham fighters far fewer than U.N. says: sources
GENEVA (Reuters) – The number of Islamist rebels in eastern Aleppo who are not protected by any ceasefire deal, and can therefore be legitimately targeted, is far smaller than an estimate given by the United Nations, diplomatic sources have told Reuter…
