Top Syrian rebel leader killed in air strike in Damascus suburb
BEIRUT (Reuters) – A top Syrian rebel leader and head of the most powerful insurgent group in the eastern suburbs of Damascus was killed in an aerial raid that targeted the group’s headquarters, rebel sources and the Syrian army said on Friday.
Strong earthquake hits northeast Afghanistan
KABUL (Reuters) – A 6.2-magnitude earthquake hit northern Afghanistan and Pakistan late on Friday, two months after more than 300 people were killed by a quake in the same mountainous region.
French journalist at L’Obs to be expelled from China
PARIS (Reuters) – China will expel a French journalist who criticized its treatment of its Muslim Uighur minority in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, her employer, the weekly l’Obs news magazine said on Friday.
A hug and high tea: Indian PM makes surprise visit to Pakistan
ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a surprise stopover in Pakistan on Friday to meet his counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, the first time an Indian premier has visited the rival nation in over a decade.
Israeli police say they killed Palestinian attempting ramming attack
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli border police shot dead a Palestinian woman who tried to ram them with her car in the West Bank on Friday, the police said, as a 12-week surge in street violence showed no sign of abating.
Ethiopian opposition figures arrested over land protests
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Ethiopian police have arrested two senior opposition members on suspicion of inciting weeks of protests against government plans to set up a new economic zone near the capital that would displace farmers, their party leader said…
Pope calls in Christmas message for unity against militant atrocities
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis urged the world in his Christmas message on Friday to unite to end atrocities by Islamist militants that he said were causing immense suffering in many countries.
Britain’s queen focuses on Christian faith after year of ‘dark moments’
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s Queen Elizabeth focused on what she called the light of the Christian faith in her annual Christmas message on Friday, after a year marked by militant Islamist attacks across the world.
‘Tens’ killed in Nigeria Christmas Eve gas plant explosion: presidency
ONITSHA, Nigeria (Reuters) – Tens of people were killed in an explosion at a gas plant in southern Nigeria, the presidency said on Friday, with one journalist putting the death toll at 100.
U.S. reports 31 strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States and its allies conducted 31 strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria on Thursday, the coalition leading the operations said in a statement on Friday.
