Obama intervened over crumbling Iraqi dam as U.S. concern grew
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – On Jan. 21, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with Iraq’s prime minister in Davos, Switzerland, and handed him a personal note from President Barack Obama pleading for urgent action.
Iraq seeks financial agreement with Kurds before pumping crude to Turkey
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq will not resume pumping crude through a Kurdish pipeline to Turkey unless it reaches a financial agreement with the Kurdish regional government, the Iraqi oil minister said on Tuesday.
Christian convert stabbed to death in Bangladesh
DHAKA (Reuters) – Suspected Islamist militants stabbed a Christian convert to death in northern Bangladesh on Tuesday, the latest in a series of attacks on minorities in the Muslim-majority nation.
North Korean consular official in China kills two in car crash
BEIJING (Reuters) – A North Korean consular official in China has killed two people in a car crash, China’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, reporting the accident shortly after China came out in support of sanctions against its ally over its nuclear …
Breakaway Taliban group denies its leader detained in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – The leader of a breakaway faction of the Taliban is leading his fighters in Afghanistan, his deputy said on Tuesday, contradicting three senior members of the Islamist group and denying a newspaper report that he had been detained…
Thai charter drafters say they accept some contentious junta points
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s constitution drafters said on Tuesday they had accepted proposals from the ruling junta that critics say are designed to prolong the military’s hold on power.
530 killed in areas covered by Syria truce in first 23 days
BEIRUT (Reuters) – A total of 530 people were killed in the first 23 days of a truce in Syria in areas covered by the cessation of hostilities agreement, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Tuesday.
Turkish soldier killed in Kurdish militant bomb attack: military
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) – A Turkish soldier was killed in a bomb attack early on Tuesday in a town near the Syrian border, the scene of days of fighting with Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants, the army said.
Australia arrests two suspected of Islamic State financing: police
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian police said on Tuesday they had arrested two people, including a 16-year-old girl, on suspicion of raising funds to support operations of the Islamic State militant group.
China lodges protest with Japan over new text books
BEIJING (Reuters) – China said on Tuesday it had lodged a formal protest with Japan over new Japanese school text books which it said distorted the history of Japanese atrocities in China and reasserted a Japanese claim to a group of disputed islands.
