Russia’s Putin says attempts to get Syria deal with Obama thwarted
KRASNAYA POLYANA (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that his attempts to reach an agreement with U.S. President Barack Obama on ending the bloodshed in Syria had not worked out.
Violence flares in Turkey’s tense southeast after mayors’ arrest
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Five members of Turkey’s security forces and five Kurdish militants were killed on Thursday in clashes in the southeast where unrest has flared since the arrest this week of two popular mayors.
Russia says not responsible for strike on school in Syria’s Idlib
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s foreign ministry said on Thursday Moscow is not responsible for an air strike on a school in Syria’s Idlib province that led to deaths of 26 civilians, most of them schoolchildren.
Yazidi women win EU Parliament’s Sakharov Prize
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Parliament awarded its Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought on Thursday to two Iraqi Yazidi women who were held as sex slaves by Islamic State militants and now campaign for human rights.
Turkey-Kurdish rivalry complicates push against Islamic State in Syria’s Raqqa
BEIRUT/ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Fighting between Turkey and Kurdish militias in northern Syria is complicating plans to drive their mutual enemy Islamic State from its Syrian capital Raqqa, an operation U.S. officials have said may start within weeks.
Chilean president signals fresh cabinet reshuffle in November
SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said in an interview published on Thursday that she is expecting further cabinet changes in November as some current members leave to run in 2017 elections.
EU hits more Syrian military, Assad officials with sanctions
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – EU governments put 10 more people under sanctions over the crisis in Syria, targeting high-ranking military officials and senior figures linked to President Bashar al-Assad, the bloc said in a statement on Thursday.
Pope Francis accepts church leaders’ invitation to visit South Sudan
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis has accepted an invitation to visit South Sudan to preach peace in the country embroiled in inter-ethnic and political strife, religious leaders said after talks with the pontiff on Thursday.
U.N. vows to press on with securing Aleppo evacuation operation
GENEVA (Reuters) – The United Nations vowed on Thursday to press ahead on securing medical evacuations of hundreds of sick and wounded from the Syrian city of Aleppo and demanded that warring sides drop their conditions.
Coked-up British banker imagined police behind curtains after cutting woman’s throat
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Moments before he surrendered after killing a second victim in his Hong Kong apartment, British banker Rurik Jutting ingested up to 20 grams of cocaine and imagined police were behind the curtains, a court heard on Thursday.
