Iran denies it fired rockets near U.S. warship in Gulf
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran denied on Thursday that its Revolutionary Guards launched rockets near a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Gulf on Saturday and condemned U.S. plans for new sanctions over its ballistic missile program.
Germany to increase scrutiny of Syrian asylum applicants
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany will start holding personal hearings for asylum seekers from Syria as of Friday, an Interior Ministry spokeswoman told Reuters on Thursday, reversing a policy of granting almost automatic refugee status for Syrians.
Syria ceasefire plan struggles to define a ‘terrorist’
WASHINGTON/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – A U.N. plan to suspend Syria’s nearly five-year-old civil war calls for listing which militant groups may be fought despite an eventual ceasefire, one of the toughest issues vexing diplomats trying to end the confl…
Belgium detains six people over New Year’s attack plot
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Belgian police detained six people during house searches in Brussels on Thursday as part of an investigation into an alleged plot to carry out an attack in the capital on New Year’s Eve.
King of Mandela’s clan jailed in South Africa: media
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – The king of the AbaThembu clan of South Africa’s late anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela has started a 12-year jail sentence for arson, kidnapping and assault, local media reported on Thursday.
Bahrain sentences man to death for bomb attack: prosecutor
DUBAI (Reuters) – A Bahraini man was sentenced to death on Thursday for a bomb attack last year that killed a policemen and a civilian in Dimistan village west of the capital Manama, the public prosecution, quoted by state news agency BNA, said. 
Afghan leader says end to terrorism a condition for peace talks
KABUL (Reuters) – Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said international meetings next month to lay the groundwork for a possible resumption of peace talks with the Taliban had to seek an approach to the fractured insurgent movement that ensured a rejection …
U.S., allies conduct 24 strikes against Islamic State: U.S. military
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S.-led coalition carried out 24 strikes against Islamic State militants on Wednesday, putting pressure on the group around Ramadi and Mosul in Iraq and along the Mar’a line in Syria, the U.S. military said in a statement on…
Egyptian parliament to convene on Jan 10 after three-year gap
CAIRO (Reuters) – President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has called for Egypt’s new parliament to convene on Jan. 10, state television said on Thursday, more than three years after the old Islamist-dominated chamber was dissolved.
Magnitude 5.7 earthquake hits off Nicaragua, no damages reported
MANAGUA (Reuters) – A magnitude 5.7 earthquake hit near the coast of Nicaragua on Thursday at a depth of 36.5 km (23 miles), the U.S. Geological Survey said, but the government said there were no initial reports of damages.
