Anger as fighting in Afghan city Kunduz forces people to flee
KABUL (Reuters) – Parmi fled the fighting in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz with 13 members of her family this week, in shock at how quickly the city’s defenses had collapsed to the Taliban.
Two militants kill themselves in standoff with Turkish police
ANKARA (Reuters) – Two militants believed to be preparing a car bomb attack detonated explosives and were killed near Ankara on Saturday after Turkish police told them to surrender, the provincial governor said.
Egypt expresses ‘annoyance’ with U.S. Embassy over threat warning
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s foreign ministry sharply criticized the U.S. Embassy in Cairo for advising citizens to avoid large gatherings in the capital until Sunday, calling the move “unjustifiable”.
Militant group claims assassination of Egyptian policeman
CAIRO (Reuters) – A new Egyptian militant group, the Hasam Movement, on Saturday claimed responsibility for the killing of a policeman in the country’s north.
South Africa’s Tutu wants ‘the option of an assisted death’
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Retired South African cleric and anti-apartheid campaigner Archbishop Desmond Tutu said in a published commentary that when his time comes, he would “want the option of an assisted death”.
Moderate Moroccan Islamists win election, coalition talks seen tough
RABAT (Reuters) – Morocco’s moderate Islamists have won parliamentary elections, beating a rival party critics say is too close to the royal palace in a tight race that will complicate negotiations to form a coalition government.
Islamic State hits back against Syrian rebels north of Aleppo: monitors
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Islamic State militants captured several villages from Syrian rebels in a counter-attack near the Turkish border that forced the foreign-backed insurgents to retreat, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
Syrian government forces seize rebel-held areas of Hama: monitors
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian government forces and their allies recaptured several towns and villages from rebels in the west of the country on Saturday, monitors and pro-Damascus media reported, reversing rare gains made by the insurgents in recent weeks…
Top general in Yemen’s Saudi-backed army killed
DUBAI (Reuters) – A top general in forces loyal to Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s government has been killed in fighting with Iran-aligned Houthi troops east of the capital Sanaa, sources on both sides of the conflict said.
Japan’s Mount Aso volcano erupts, no injuries reported
TOKYO (Reuters) – Mount Aso, a volcano on Japan’s main southern island of Kyushu, erupted early on Saturday, Japan’s Meteorological Agency said, spewing volcanic ash 11,000 meters (7 miles) into the sky.
