EU’s Juncker accepts invite to Russia: spokeswoman
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has agreed to attend an event in Russia next month, a Commission spokeswoman said on Monday, in a move that may stir debate on the EU’s fraught relations with Moscow.
South Korean cram school tutors deny wrongdoing in SAT leak case
SEOUL (Reuters) – Tutors at South Korean test preparation schools denied criminal wrongdoing during a court hearing on Monday involving leaked information that led to the cancellation of the U.S. SAT college entrance exam in South Korea in 2013.
U.S.-led coalition troops seen near front line in new Iraq offensive
HASSAN SHAMI, Iraq (Reuters) – Servicemen from the U.S.-led coalition were seen near the front line of a new offensive in northern Iraq launched on Sunday by Kurdish peshmerga forces that aims to retake a handful of villages from Islamic State east of …
Brother of man killed in U.S. strike on Taliban chief files police report
QUETTA/DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (Reuters) – The brother of a man killed alongside Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour in a U.S. drone strike in southwest Pakistan has filed a report with police asking for his brother’s killing to be investigat…
New photo of Japanese hostage appears with message pleading for help
TOKYO (Reuters) – The Japanese government said on Monday it was doing all it could to secure the release of a Japanese journalist being held hostage by an al Qaeda affiliate in Syria, after an apparent photograph of the man was posted on the internet.
Turkish shelling kills 28 Islamic State fighters north of Aleppo: TV
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey’s military killed at least 28 Islamic State fighters in shelling north of the Syrian city of Aleppo on Sunday in retaliation for the latest attacks against a Turkish border town, broadcaster CNN Turk said, citing a military …
Merkel, Hollande together mark 100 years since Verdun battle
VERDUN, France (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande marked the 100-year anniversary of the Battle of Verdun side-by-side on Sunday, laying a wreath at a cemetery in northeastern France for the 300,000 soldi…
Rio de Janeiro police search slums for suspects in gang-rape case
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Rio de Janeiro police swarmed two slums on Sunday searching for suspects in the alleged gang rape of a 16-year-old Brazilian girl who said more than 30 men assaulted her, a case that shocked the nation set to host the Olympics in August.
French government and union remain deadlocked in wave of unrest
PARIS (Reuters) – The French government and CGT union on Sunday dug in their heels amid a wave of strikes and angry street protests against labor reforms, but there were fresh phone contacts between the two sides.
Between 700-900 migrants may have died at sea this week: NGOs
ROME (Reuters) – At least 700 migrants may have died at sea this past week in the busiest week of migrant crossings from Libya towards Italy this year, Medecins San Frontieres and the U.N. Refugee agency said on Sunday.
