Exclusive: Watchdog to probe alleged mustard gas use by Islamic State
THE HAGUE (Reuters) – Islamic State militants “most probably” used the banned chemical weapon mustard gas against Kurdish forces in Iraq and international inspectors have been asked to investigate, diplomatic sources told Reuters.
South African police hold 23 as students protest tuition plan
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African students burned tires and erected barricades at their Cape Town campus, leading to 23 arrests on Tuesday, as protests hit universities across the country over plans to hike tuition fees.
Kurdish lawyer faces trial for saying PKK not terrorist group
ISTANBUL/DIYARBAKIR (Reuters) – A top Kurdish lawyer in conflict-riven southeast Turkey faces trial after saying the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), whose guerrillas are battling Turkish security forces, is not a terrorist group.
Clashes erupt in Indian Kashmir over beef killing
SRINAGAR, India (Reuters) – At least two dozen people have been injured in clashes with police after protests erupted in Indian Kashmir over the killing of a Muslim man by Hindus campaigning against eating beef.
Finland tightens criteria for Iraqi asylum seekers
HELSINKI (Reuters) – Finland expects to get fewer Iraqi asylum seekers after it re-assessed the country’s security and decided people will not qualify simply because they come from Iraq.
Kerry holds out possibility of meeting Netanyahu in Middle East
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday held out the possibility that he may meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Middle East rather than in Germany as previously planned.
EU mulls mission to disarm Libyan factions if unity government in place
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union is considering helping Libya strengthen its borders and disarm militias if a government of national unity is formed in the war-torn country, a EU document seen by Reuters says.
Wave of unrest leaves Palestinian president with no good choices
JERUSALEM/GAZA (Reuters) – A three-week-old uprising by knife-wielding, Internet-generation teenagers against Israelis has left 80-year-old Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas looking like yesterday’s man, unable either to oppose the violence or openly…
From cows to drug busts – France’s Hollande broadens message in hunt for votes
PARIS (Reuters) – From hunters to police officers, French President Francois Hollande is broadening his charm offensive among voters to include groups not normally associated with his ruling Socialists ahead of elections the party is expected to lose.
Italy’s Renzi mimics Berlusconi in bid to inherit his voters
ROME (Reuters) – A recent front-page cartoon in Italy’s mainstream newspaper Corriere della Sera depicted elderly former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi affectionately holding the hand of his little ice-cream licking “son” Matteo Renzi, the current pr…
