Green shoe brand helps Ethiopia walk tall on global stage
BARCELONA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Brightly colored shoes, boots and sandals, handmade in Ethiopia, nestle in tyres and wooden pallets hung with ropes on the white walls of this former butcher’s shop in Gràcia, a fashionably bohemian district of Barcelona.
Qatar summons U.S. envoy over video of soldiers laughing near flag
DOHA (Reuters) – Qatar, which hosts the largest U.S. air base in the Middle East, summoned the U.S. ambassador on Thursday over a video posted online that showed American soldiers laughing in front of the nation’s flag.
Kenyan political unrest raises fears of new flare-up in 2017 vote
KISUMU, Kenya (Reuters) – Kenyan politics is already taking a deadly toll more than a year before elections likely to pit rival dynasties against each other, raising fears of a new crisis less than a decade after ethnic violence killed 1,200 people.
Iraqi PM Abadi stakes leadership, IS campaign, on Falluja battle
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi expects two victories from the battle underway in Falluja, an Islamic States stronghold near Baghdad. The first is over IS, the second over political rivals, including some backed by Iran.
Pope to visit Auschwitz during trip to Poland in July
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis will visit the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau during a visit to Poland on July 29, the Vatican said on Thursday.
Baghdad bombings kill 25 as Falluja siege continues
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Two suicide bombings that killed about 25 people in Baghdad on Thursday were claimed by Islamic State, whose stronghold of Falluja near the capital is surrounded by Iraqi forces which are now advancing on the city.
Germany failing to deal with surge in hate crimes: Amnesty
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany is failing to deal with a surge in hate crimes such as attacks on asylum homes and there are signs “institutional racism” is a problem among law enforcement agencies, an Amnesty International report said on Thursday.
China leads resistance to India joining nuclear export club
VIENNA (Reuters) – China is leading opposition to a push by the United States and other major powers for India to join the main club of countries controlling access to sensitive nuclear technology, diplomats said on Thursday as the group discussed Indi…
Russia, Iran, Syria to discuss military cooperation: Ifax
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Defense ministers from Russia, Iran and Syria will discuss ways to enhance their cooperation in fighting the Islamic State group and al-Qaeda during a meeting in Tehran on Thursday, Interfax news agency quoted Russia’s defense minist…
Indonesian police arrest suspected Islamic State-linked militants ‘plotting attack’
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesian police have arrested three suspected militants with links to Islamic State, officials said on Thursday, saying the men had planned a bomb attack during the fasting month of Ramadan in the world’s most populous Muslim nati…
