Obama honors Argentina’s ‘Dirty War’ victims; faults U.S. on human rights
BARILOCHE, Argentina (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said the United States was too slow to condemn human rights atrocities during Argentina’s 1976-1983 dictatorship as he honored victims of the “Dirty War” on Thursday, but he stopped short of apolo…
Russia’s special forces officer killed in Syria: Interfax
MOSCOW (Reuters) – A Russian special forces officer has been killed in a combat operation near Palmyra in Syria, Interfax news agency reported on Thursday, citing a Russian military source in Syria.
Human rights on trial in Egypt as NGO funding case revived
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt has launched a new crackdown on human rights groups, questioning staff and ordering asset freezes over accusations they took foreign funding to destabilize the country after the 2011 uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year r…
Two Palestinians who stabbed Israeli soldier shot dead in West Bank: army
HEBRON, West Bank (Reuters) – Israeli troops shot dead two Palestinians after they attacked a soldier in the West Bank on Thursday, the military said, and one soldier was detained after being shown on video firing a round into the head of one of the as…
Champions for refugees, violence victims cited by Fortune for leadership
NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Advocates for refugees, the environment and victims of sexual violence earned prominent berths on Thursday in a list of the world’s greatest leaders published each year by Fortune magazine in a tribute to their v…
Syrian government forces enter Islamic State-held Palmyra
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian government forces fought their way into Palmyra on Thursday as the army backed by Russian air cover sought to recapture the historic city from Islamic State (IS) insurgents, Syrian state TV and a monitoring group said.
ICC suspect Al Mahdi admits guilt over Timbuktu destruction
THE HAGUE (Reuters) – A Tuareg Islamist rebel charged by the International Criminal Court with desecrating priceless monuments in the ancient Malian city of Timbuktu has told judges he wishes to plead guilty to the war crimes charges he faces, the ICC’…
Malian national pleads guilty over 2000 killing of U.S. diplomat
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A Malian national with ties to militant groups pleaded guilty on Thursday to a U.S. charge that he conspired to kill an American diplomat during a 2000 carjacking in Niger.Alhassane Ould Mohamed, 46, admitted in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, to participating in a conspiracy to murder William Bultemeier, a defense attache system operations coordinator working at Niger’s U.S. Embassy.
Russia’s Putin reminds wayward Chechnya leader: I’m the boss
MOSCOW (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin has imposed the Kremlin’s writ on every corner of Russia except one: the Chechnya region whose leader Ramzan Kadyrov often pays little heed to the rules that govern the rest of the country.
Congo’s Sassou Nguesso wins re-election, opposition vows protests
BRAZZAVILLE (Reuters) – Congo Republic President Denis Sassou Nguesso has won a new five-year term with over 60 percent of the vote, the interior minister said on Thursday, but the opposition rejected the outcome, alleging fraud and calling for civil d…
