NATO chief says concerned about Russian military build-up in Syria
KUWAIT (Reuters) – NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday that a fragile truce in Syria appeared to be largely holding but the alliance was concerned by a Russian military build-up in Syria.
Lavrov, Kerry discuss Syria ceasefire plan
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke on the phone on Sunday about closer cooperation between their countries’ militaries on the Syria ceasefire plan, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Mo…
Philippines asks China to respect sea dispute arbitration
MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines on Monday urged China to respect a forthcoming ruling by an arbitration court in The Hague on a territorial dispute in the South China Sea after Beijing accused Manila of “political provocation”.
Dutch find 10 Syrian war crime suspects among thousand of migrants
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Dutch authorities identified about 30 war crimes suspects, a third of them Syrians, among the 59,000 people who applied for asylum last year, the immigration minister said on Monday.
Indonesia hopes village spending will counter radicalism
SERANG, Indonesia (Reuters) – Indonesia, on alert against rising militancy, will boost the state funds it sends directly to thousands of villages across the Muslim-majority country to reduce poverty and counter radicalism, a senior cabinet minister sai…
Chinese court upholds life sentence for former Bo Xilai aide
BEIJING (Reuters) – A court in northeastern China on Monday upheld a life sentence for a former aide of disgraced Politburo member Bo Xilai, saying an initial guilty verdict for bribery should stand, state media reported.
Up to 70,000 migrants may be trapped in Greece next month: migration minister
ATHENS (Reuters) – The number of refugees and migrants trapped in Greece may reach 70,000 in coming weeks, Greece’s migration minister said on Sunday, adding that a NATO plan to crack down on smugglers could limit migrant flows significantly.
Syrian government forces regain road from Islamic State: monitor
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian government forces regained control of a key road to the northern city of Aleppo after making advances against Islamic State fighters on Monday, a monitoring group and state television reported.
Hungary’s Orban says no automatic extension of sanctions against Russia
BUDAPEST (Reuters) – The European Union is expected to hold discussions about whether Russia has fulfilled the Minsk agreement on Ukraine and there will not be an automatic extension of sanctions against Moscow, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban sa…
Greece’s ‘erratic Marxist’ Varoufakis advises Britain’s Labour Party, Corbyn says
LONDON (Reuters) – Yanis Varoufakis, the self-described “erratic Marxist” who alienated his euro zone colleagues during his time as Greece’s finance minister, has secured a new role advising Britain’s opposition Labour Party.
