Libyan forces fight Islamic State in Sirte, predict city to fall soon
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Forces aligned with Libya’s unity government battled Islamic State on Thursday in the militant group’s stronghold of Sirte, but faced resistance from snipers as they edged towards the city center.
U.S. allies tighten grip around Islamic State stronghold in Syria
BEIRUT/BAGHDAD – (Reuters) – U.S.-backed militia drew within firing distance of the last road into an Islamic State stronghold in northern Syria on Thursday, part of a wave of new offensives putting unprecedented pressure on the self-declared caliphate…
German army chiefs eye large purchases of tanks, radios
BERLIN (Reuters) – The German army needs billions of euros worth of new radios, tanks and other equipment in the coming years, Lieutenant General Joerg Vollmer, the inspector general of the German land forces, told reporters on Thursday.
After deadly Tel Aviv attack, Israel suspends Palestinian permits
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – The Israeli military on Thursday revoked permits for 83,000 Palestinians to visit Israel and said it would send hundreds more troops to the occupied West Bank after a Palestinian gun attack that killed four Israelis in Tel Aviv.
Smelly bins, pickets plague France on eve of Euro soccer kickoff
PARIS (Reuters) – As the stench of rotten, uncleared garbage wafts through parts of Paris and pilots prepare to strike, French President Francois Hollande said he would do what was needed to ensure protests do not spoil the Euro 2016 soccer tournament …
Taliban gains in Afghanistan threaten costly U.S. reconstruction effort
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States has wasted billions of dollars in reconstruction aid to Afghanistan over the past decade, and now a renewed Taliban insurgency is threatening the gains that have been made, the U.S government’s top watchdog on Afghanistan said.
Stay out of succession talk, Zimbabwe’s Mugabe tells liberation veterans
HARARE (Reuters) – Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe warned veterans of the 1970s independence war on Thursday against trying to influence the choice of who will succeed him when he eventually leaves office.
3,000 migrants rescued off Italian coast; two bodies found
ROME (Reuters) – More than 3,000 boat migrants have been rescued in the Mediterranean over the past two days and two bodies have been recovered, Italy’s coastguard said on Thursday.
U.N. chief blasts Saudi pressure after Yemen coalition blacklisting
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon said on Thursday that Saudi Arabia had exerted “unacceptable” undue pressure on the world body after a U.N. report blacklisted a Saudi-led military coalition for killing children in Yemen.
German economy minister urges quick addition of Russia to G7: website
BERLIN (Reuters) – The Group of Seven (G7) leading industrial nations should quickly allow Russia to rejoin the economic organization, German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said in an interview published on Thursday.
