Fearing genocide, ex-Burundi presidents plead for U.N. troops
BUJUMBURA (Reuters) – Two former Burundi presidents pleaded for the United Nations Security Council on Thursday to back the deployment of international troops to the African state gripped by political violence because it “runs the risk of becoming anot…
U.S. tightens visa waiver rules for visitors after Paris attacks
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on Thursday began implementing restrictions to its Visa Waiver Program under a law passed after last year’s Paris attacks that makes it harder for citizens of some countries to visit.
India’s Modi may bet on old faces and new to regain winning ways
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi may look to press the reset button on his leadership this spring to reinvigorate stalled economic reforms and appease critics, eyeing a mix of tried and tested allies and fresh blood, senior gov…
Israel says will seize West Bank land; demolishes EU structures
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel confirmed on Thursday it was planning to appropriate a large tract of fertile land in the occupied West Bank, close to Jordan, a move likely to exacerbate tensions with Western allies and already drawing international conde…
Obama promises Merkel to ‘substantially’ support refugee efforts: Berlin
BERLIN (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama has promised German Chancellor Angela Merkel to “substantially” support efforts to ease the refugee crisis in the Middle East and Europe, a German government spokesman said on Thursday.
Three migrants die in Lesbos from hypothermia after icy sea crossing
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A five-year-old child and two women died from hypothermia on the Greek island of Lesbos on Wednesday after crossing the Aegean from Turkey in freezing weather, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cres…
Pakistan attack raises tough question: should teachers shoot back?
CHARSADDA, Pakistan/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Stuck with 15 of his students on a third floor balcony of a campus building as gunmen came up the stairs, university director Mohammad Shakil urged Pakistani police arriving at the scene to toss him up a gun so…
U.S. gives troops broader order to strike Islamic State in Afghanistan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. military commanders have been given the authority to target Islamic State fighters in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said on Thursday, the first such order beyond Iraq and Syria, where the militants control parts of both countrie…
Kerry says no ‘fundamental delay’ to January 25 Syria talks
DAVOS (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday any delay to internationally brokered talks between Syria’s government and opposition groups would only be a matter of days, but there was still no sign of agreement on who will repr…
Brussels urges more migration within EU as Britain resists
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The EU urged Europeans on Thursday to cross borders to find work as the labor commissioner voiced “frustration” that British Prime Minister David Cameron’s push to curb EU migration has held up plans to make this easier.
