Russian court jails blogger for five years for ‘extremist’ posts
MOSCOW (Reuters) – A Russian court on Wednesday sentenced a blogger to five years in jail for what it said was his extremist activity on the Internet after he urged people to attend a protest against high transport fares and criticized Russian interven…
Bahraini jet taking part in Yemen war crashes in Saudi Arabia: coalition
DUBAI (Reuters) – A Bahraini F-16 jet taking part in a mostly Gulf Arab military campaign in Yemen crashed in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, according to a coalition statement on the Saudi state news agency.
Israel cracks down on Islamic State volunteers
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Ayoob Kara, a deputy Israeli cabinet minister, used to double as an unofficial intermediary with the few of his fellow Arab citizens who have left to join Islamic State insurgents in Syria or Iraq.
U.S. leads 28 air strikes against Islamic State: statement
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States and its allies staged 28 air strikes on Tuesday against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, the coalition leading the operations said in a statement.
Putin’s son-in-law boosted by $1.75 billion Russian state loan
MOSCOW (Reuters) – The son-in-law of Vladimir Putin stands to benefit from $1.75 billion in cheap finance from the Russian state, a Reuters examination of public documents shows. The money will help fund a petrochemical project at a company in which Ki…
Russia made 121 air sorties on Dec 28-29, hit 424 targets in Syria: defense ministry
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s air force made 121 sorties and hit 424 targets in Syria during December 28-29, Russia’s defense ministry said on Wednesday.
Thai inquiry finds ‘irregularities’ in controversial military park
BANGKOK (Reuters) – A Thai defense ministry team looking into allegations of corruption at a military-built park said on Wednesday it had found financial “irregularities” in the project but had no authority to investigate any wrongdoing.
China blames weather for ship disaster, captain may be prosecuted
BEIJING (Reuters) – A formal inquiry has concluded that freak weather led to the sinking of a Yangtze River cruise ship in June that killed 442 people and recommended that the captain be investigated for possible crimes, media reported on Thursday.
Turkey detains two suspected Islamic State members planning New Year attack: official
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish police on Wednesday detained two suspected members of the Islamic State militant group believed to have been plotting suicide attacks in the capital Ankara on New Year’s Eve, a senior government official said.
British policy chief apologizes for 30-year-old race comments
LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister David Cameron’s policy chief apologized on Wednesday after a newly released memo from 30 years ago revealed he had blamed poor morals in the black community for riots and said any investment would be wasted on …
