Syrian government retakes town near Aleppo road from Islamic State: Observatory
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian government forces backed by heavy Russian air strikes recaptured a town seized by Islamic State near the road used by the army to access Aleppo, though the route remains cut, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Thu…
Explosives, ammunition found near Turkish capital Ankara: local governor
ANKARA (Reuters) – Explosives and ammunition were found close to a armed police checkpoint on a road connecting the Turkish capital of Ankara to the coastal city of Samsun, the local governor’s office said on Thursday.
Pakistan’s largest opposition party wants army chief to stay when term ends
LAHORE/KARACHI (Reuters) – Pakistan’s largest opposition party has asked Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government to extend the term of the powerful army chief when he retires in November, party officials said on Thursday.
NATO overcomes Greek-Turkish tension to set terms of Aegean mission
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – NATO allies have agreed on how their ships will help Turkey and Greece counter the criminal networks smuggling refugees into Europe across the Aegean Sea, NATO’s chief said on Thursday, overcoming territorial sensitivities between …
EU ministers demand drop in migrant flows from Turkey before March 7 summit
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union ministers on Thursday raised the prospect of further tightening unilateral border controls unless there was a sharp drop in the number of migrants arriving from Turkey by the time of an EU-Turkey summit on March 7.
European Parliament calls for Saudi arms embargo
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Parliament called on the European Union to impose an arms embargo against Saudi Arabia on Thursday, saying Britain, France and other EU governments should no longer sell weapons to a country accused of targeting civili…
Pakistan province passes landmark law protecting women against violence
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Lawmakers in Pakistan’s largest province on Wednesday gave unprecedented protection to female victims of violence, in a bid to stem a rising tide of gender-related abuse in a country ranked as the world’s third most dangerous plac…
Sri Lanka appoints war winning army chief as minister
COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lanka on Thursday appointed as a cabinet minister its first five-star field marshal and the former army general who led the military to victory in a 26-year war against Tamil Tiger separatists.
Israel says Sudanese who wounded soldier was Islamic State sympathizer
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – A Sudanese migrant who stabbed and wounded a soldier in Israel two weeks ago was motivated by Islamic State ideology, the Shin Bet internal security service said on Thursday.
Cambodian PM tells troops to fire rockets at illegal loggers
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) – Cambodia’s prime minister on Thursday called for a bigger effort to curb illicit timber trade, saying he had ordered military police to fire rockets from helicopters if they saw illegal loggers at work.
