Turkish military says takes control of four settlements in Syria operation
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s military said on Thursday it had taken control of four residential areas in northern Syria as it presses an offensive to sweep Islamic State out of a patch of border territory and prevent Kurdish militia fighters gaining gro…
Britain, EU must work together for smooth divorce: PM May
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain and the European Union must work together to make their divorce smooth and forge a new “strong relationship”, Prime Minister Theresa May told European Council President Donald Tusk on Thursday.
Nine Yemeni civilians, four of them children, killed in air strike: residents
SANAA (Reuters) – At least nine civilians, including four children, were killed on Thursday in an air strike by the Saudi-led coalition on a residential building north of the Yemeni capital Sanaa, residents said.
Syrians on haj pray for peace; Damascus says Riyadh plays politics
MECCA, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) – Syrians from territory held by opposing sides in the civil war prayed together for peace as they flew to Mecca for the haj, even as President Bashar al-Assad’s government accused Saudi Arabia of politicizing the annual M…
Fight for Iraqi city of Mosul may begin ‘soon’: U.S. military official
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The coalition fighting Islamic State will have to begin the fight for Mosul soon to meet Iraq’s aim of freeing the city by the end of the year, a U.S. military official said on Thursday, but he declined to say if the offensive wo…
U.S., Turkey see key role for local Syrian forces in Raqqa offensive: Pentagon
LONDON (Reuters) – U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter and his Turkish counterpart Fikri Isik on Thursday discussed the importance of local forces being at the center of any effort to retake the Syrian city of Raqqa from Islamic State, the Pentagon said….
Palestinian leader Abbas was KGB spy in 1980s: Israeli researchers
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Soviet-era documents show that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas worked in the 1980s for the KGB, the now-defunct intelligence agency where Russian leader Vladimir Putin once served, Israeli researchers said on Thursday.
Afghan forces repel Taliban offensive in provincial capital: officials
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) – Taliban forces fought their way deep into the capital of Afghanistan’s central province of Uruzgan on Thursday, threatening government offices and capturing a prison before being pushed back, officials said.
EU grants 348 million euros in aid for Syrian refugees in Turkey
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union on Thursday announced it was contracting 348 million euros ($393 mln) to the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) for humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees in Turkey, part of the bloc’s migration cooperation with Ankar…
Duterte tells regional leaders, U.S. not to lecture Philippines on rights
VIENTIANE (Reuters) – Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday defended his country’s human rights record at a regional summit in Laos, urging East Asian leaders and the United States to help Manila eradicate the scourge of illicit drugs.
