U.S. gives troops broader order to strike Islamic State in Afghanistan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. military commanders have been given the authority to target Islamic State fighters in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said on Thursday, the first such order beyond Iraq and Syria, where the militants control parts of both countrie…
Kerry says no ‘fundamental delay’ to January 25 Syria talks
DAVOS (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday any delay to internationally brokered talks between Syria’s government and opposition groups would only be a matter of days, but there was still no sign of agreement on who will repr…
Brussels urges more migration within EU as Britain resists
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The EU urged Europeans on Thursday to cross borders to find work as the labor commissioner voiced “frustration” that British Prime Minister David Cameron’s push to curb EU migration has held up plans to make this easier.
Yemen oil port fire from Saudi-led air strike kills at least nine
CAIRO (Reuters) – An air strike by a Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen killed at least nine people on Thursday at an oil facility on the Red Sea operated by its Houthi opponents, oil workers and medics said.
Islamists bomb, storm restaurant in Somali capital
MOGADISHU (Reuters) – Islamist gunmen stormed a popular beachside restaurant in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Thursday, setting off two car bombs and battling government soldiers trying to flush them out.
Iraqi PM doubts any Iranian link with three missing Americans
DAVOS (Reuters) – Iraqi Prime Minister Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Thursday that three Americans who disappeared in Iraq last week “just went missing,” and he very much doubted any Iranian involvement.
U.N. agency eyes 50,000 Somalis returning from Kenyan camp
DADAAB, Kenya (Reuters) – The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR is planning for as many as 50,000 Somalis to return home this year from a Kenyan camp that is now home to 350,000 people, but that figure may not be reached given concerns many refugees …
Kerry believes 2016 will see Islamic State ‘seriously dented’
DAVOS (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday he believed Islamic State’s military capabilities in Iran and Syria would be seriously weakened by the end of 2016.
Islamic State attack sets storage tanks ablaze at Libyan oil terminal
BENGHAZI/TRIPOLI, Libya (Reuters) – Islamic State militants set fire on Thursday to oil storage tanks in a fresh assault on Ras Lanuf terminal in northern Libya and the group threatened further attacks as they exploit a prolonged power vacuum in the la…
China’s Xi visits Egypt, offers financial, political support
CAIRO (Reuters) – China signed investment and aid deals worth billions of dollars with Egypt during a visit by President Xi Jinping on Thursday and expressed support for Cairo’s efforts to maintain stability, which have included a crackdown on dissent….
