Kazakhstan elected to U.N. Security Council for 2017-18
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Kazakhstan was elected to the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday, beating Thailand in a second round of voting to join Sweden, Ethiopia and Bolivia for a two-year term starting Jan. 1, 2017.
Lebanon fears more attacks after multiple suicide bombings
BEIRUT/QAA, Lebanon (Reuters) – The Lebanese government warned on Tuesday of a heightened terrorist threat after eight suicide bombers targeted a Christian village at the border with Syria, the latest spillover of that country’s conflict into Lebanon.
Data files from crashed EgyptAir plane sent back to Egypt
CAIRO (Reuters) – Data files from crashed EgyptAir flight MS804 were sent to Egypt on Tuesday after one of the plane’s black box flight recorders was repaired in France, bringing investigators closer to explaining the doomed jet’s fate.
IS Syria stronghold Raqqa next after Manbij operation is completed: U.S. official
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Once the operation against the Islamic State-held city of Manbij in northern Syria is completed, that creates the conditions to move on the militant group’s main stronghold of Raqqa, Brett McGurk, U.S. President Barack Obama’s sp…
Police examine suspicious vehicle near UK parliament; ‘looks like false alarm’
LONDON (Reuters) – Police cordoned off roads around the Houses of Parliament in the heart of London on Tuesday in a security alert caused by an abandoned vehicle, Sky News television reported.
Kremlin dents Turkish hopes for quick restoration of ties
MOSCOW/ANKARA (Reuters) – The Kremlin sought to dampen Turkey’s hopes for a swift restoration of normal relations on Tuesday, a day after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan expressed regret over the downing of a Russian warplane last year.
Germany sees rise in far-right violence, warns of ‘terrorist structures’
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany saw a sharp rise in far-right violence in 2015, a year in which it took in more than one million migrants, according to a report on Tuesday that called for concrete steps to avert the emergence of what it called “right-wing t…
Yemen counter-terrorism mission shows UAE military ambition
ABU DHABI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates, one of Washington’s closest allies in the Middle East, is deploying its military against al Qaeda in Yemen, and in the process providing what some see as a badly-needed new template for counter…
Sturgeon to meet EU leaders in drive to keep Scotland in bloc
EDINBURGH (Reuters) – First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will meet European Parliament chiefs in Brussels on Wednesday as she launches a drive to negotiate a way for Scotland to remain in the European Union, she said on Tuesday.
Former pope Benedict makes rare appearance with successor Francis
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Former pope Benedict made one of his rare public appearances on Tuesday to be feted by his successor Pope Francis, two days after Francis denied reports that Benedict was still exercising influence in the Vatican.
