Merkel promises firm action after ‘intolerable’ Cologne assaults
BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel promised to respond decisively to assaults on women in Cologne on New Year’s Eve which have stoked a fierce debate about her refugee policies after police said the attackers appeared to be of foreign o…
Hungary sees EU benefits deal with UK, poll shows Brexit support rising
BUDAPEST (Reuters) – Hungary’s prime minister said on Thursday he believed central European countries could reach a deal on Britain’s demand to curb benefits for migrant workers from EU countries in a bid to persuade Britons to stay in the European Uni…
Saudi will collapse if keeps its ‘sectarian’ policies: Iran Guards
DUBAI (Reuters) – The deputy head of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) told Saudi Arabia on Thursday it would “collapse” in coming years if it kept pursuing what he called its sectarian policies in the region.
U.S. coalition targets Islamic State with 36 strikes in Iraq, Syria: statement
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States and its allies staged 36 strikes against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria on Wednesday in its latest round of daily attacks on the militant group, the coalition leading the operations said in a statement.
Gunmen fire at Israeli tourists in Cairo, no casualties -security sources
CAIRO (Reuters) – Gunmen opened fire on Israeli tourists as they boarded a bus in Cairo on Thursday but there were no casualties, security sources said, while the Interior Ministry said the attack was directed at security forces.
In besieged Syrian town, peace talks seen as pointless
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Warnings of widespread starvation are growing as pro-government forces besiege an opposition-held town in Syria and winter bites, darkening the already bleak outlook for peace talks the United Nations hopes to convene this month.
Some Taliban factions consider joining peace process, others opposed
KABUL/PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) – Some factions within the Afghan Taliban are considering taking part in a peace process that officials from Afghanistan and Pakistan aim to revive next week, several senior members said, in a softening of the militan…
South Korea seeks U.S. strategic weapons after North’s nuclear test
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea is in talks with the United States to deploy U.S. strategic weapons on the Korean peninsula, a South Korean military official said on Thursday, a day after North Korea said it successfully tested a hydrogen nuclear device….
EU’s Juncker says sanctions on Poland over disputed laws unlikely
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The European Union is unlikely to punish Poland over two widely criticized laws passed by the new Polish government and hopes talks between Brussels and Warsaw will resolve the issue, the head of the bloc’s executive, Jean-Claude …
U.N. refugee agency raps Denmark on asylum-seekers, urges Europe to set example
GENEVA (Reuters) – The U.N. refugee agency censured Denmark on Thursday for measures that were an “affront” to refugees’ dignity as its new head urged Europe not to throw up barriers to block a tide of asylum-seekers.
