Afghan army to fly first unmanned aircraft in March, U.S. official says
KABUL (Reuters) – The Afghan military is expected to field its first specialized surveillance drones as soon as March, a U.S. commander in Kabul said on Thursday, as the Asian nation slowly expands its own air force.
Nepal PM says will try to mend fences with India during visit
KATHMANDU (Reuters) – Nepali Prime Minister K.P. Oli begins a state visit to giant neighbor India on Friday, looking to repair ties damaged by a row over the Himalayan republic’s first democratic constitution.
Rouhani allies face tough challenge in votes to shape Iran
ANKARA (Reuters) – Iranians will shape the future of the Islamic republic for at least a decade when hardline and moderate candidates battle next week in elections for parliament and the body which will choose the country’s next supreme leader.
Six soldiers killed in southeast Turkey bomb attack: military
ANKARA (Reuters) – Six Turkish security force members were killed and one soldier was seriously wounded in a blast in the mainly Kurdish southeast, the armed forces said in a statement on Thursday.
Bulgaria to use army to help guard border in migrant crisis
SOFIA (Reuters) – Bulgaria’s parliament voted on Thursday to let its army assist police in guarding the Balkan country’s borders to avoid a refugee influx that has overwhelmed some of its neighbors.
Kenya says it killed head of intelligence for Somalia’s Islamist insurgency
NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya has killed the commander of an elite unit within Somalia’s al Shabaab Islamist insurgency, a man blamed for masterminding a deadly attack on a Kenyan military camp in southern Somalia last month, the Kenyan military said on Th…
Closing borders to Balkans would cause major crisis in Greece: minister
BERLIN (Reuters) – Greece’s Migration Minister Yannis Mouzalas has said that closing the borders to the Balkans would trigger a “major humanitarian crisis” in his country and would not stop the influx of migrants.
Syrian army says it captured strategic town in coastal area
AMMAN (Reuters) – The Syrian army backed by heavy Russian aerial bombing said on Thursday it had captured the town of Kansaba in the northern countryside of the coastal province of Latakia.
Turkish army bombs Kurdish militant PKK camps in northern Iraq: sources
DIYARBAKIR (Reuters) – Turkish warplanes bombed camps belonging to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in northern Iraq late on Wednesday, security sources said, following a car bomb attack in Ankara that killed 28 people.
South Korea cites North threat in calling for tough ‘terror’ law
SEOUL (Reuters) – Seeking to push through a sweeping “anti-terrorism” law that has been blocked by opposition parties, South Korea’s government cited on Thursday the heightened risk of North Korea instigating “terror attacks”.
