Islamist gunmen kill 17 in Somalia beach restaurant attack
MOGADISHU (Reuters) – At least 17 people were killed in the Somali capital of Mogadishu when five Islamist gunmen set off bombs and stormed a popular beach-front restaurant late on Thursday, Somali police said.
U.S. military urges ‘decisive action’ against Islamic State in Libya
PARIS (Reuters) – Decisive military action is needed to halt the spread of Islamic State in Libya, the top U.S. military officer said on Friday, warning the group wanted to use the country as a platform to coordinate activity across Africa.
U.S. strips five Russian honorary consuls of credentials
WASHINGTON/MOSCOW (Reuters) – The United States said on Friday it had revoked the credentials of five of six honorary Russian consuls to retaliate for what it said was Russia’s harassment of U.S. diplomats, prompting an angry response from Moscow.
Syria opposition rules out talks before end to Russian air raids
BEIRUT (Reuters) – The Saudi-backed Syrian opposition ruled out even indirect negotiations with Damascus before steps including a halt to Russian air strikes, contradicting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s insistence that talks will begin next week…
Sarkozy draws presidential election spotlight with book
PARIS (Reuters) – Nicolas Sarkozy said his “frankness” and “free spirit” had led him to make errors during his 2007-2012 term as French president, in a book unveiled on Friday that is key to his bid for re-election in 2017.
North Korea detains U.S. student on New Year trip for ‘hostile act’
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea has detained a U.S. university student, the third western citizen known to be held in the isolated state, for committing a “hostile act” and wanting to “destroy the country’s unity”, it said on Friday.
Pentagon chief says Turkey could do more in fight against IS
DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) – Turkey could do more in the fight against Islamic State militants, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said on Friday.
U.S. military says two more civilians killed, four hurt in air strikes
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. military said on Friday two civilians were likely killed and four others wounded in air strikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria between July 4 and July 17, 2015.
Hungary’s Orban urges fence between Greece and Macedonia, Bulgaria
BRDO PRI KRANJU, Slovenia (Reuters) – Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that a fence should be erected on the Macedonian and Bulgarian borders with Greece to curb the inflow of migrants into Europe.
Czech MEP, arrested in Swiss bank case, dies in Prague
PRAGUE (Reuters) – Miloslav Ransdorf, a Czech communist member of the European Parliament who was arrested in December after trying to withdraw hundreds of millions of euros from a Swiss bank, has died, his political party said on Friday.
