Merkel under pressure as Cologne police detail assaults
BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel faced growing pressure to harden her line on refugees on Monday as the first extensive police report on New Year’s Eve violence in Cologne documented rampant sexual assaults on women by gangs of young …
At least 51 killed in attacks in Iraqi capital, eastern town
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Gunmen detonated suicide vests inside a shopping complex in Baghdad on Monday and a car bomb exploded nearby in an attack claimed by Islamic State that killed at least 18 people and wounded 40 others.
Hong Kong ‘Umbrella Soldiers’ visit boisterous Taiwan to see democracy at work
TAIPEI (Reuters) – Hundreds of residents of Hong Kong, the Chinese-ruled territory rocked by street protests demanding free elections in 2014, have flown to Taiwan for Saturday’s elections to see free-wheeling democracy in action.
Argentina snares remaining fugitives, says rogue forces complicit
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentine police commandos recaptured two of the country’s most notorious convicts in a rice mill plant on Monday, ending a 15-day manhunt through backwater towns and flooded farm land in an episode underscoring the power of Ar…
Canadian man captured by Taliban five years ago freed: Ottawa
OTTAWA (Reuters) – A Canadian man whom the Taliban seized in Afghanistan five years ago and accused of being a spy has been released with the aid of Qatar, Foreign Minister Stephane Dion said on Monday.
Turkey plans to introduce work permits for Syrian refugees, minister says
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey plans to offer Syrian refugees work permits to discourage them from crossing illegally into the EU, Ankara’s minister for European Affairs said on Monday, amid EU pressure to reduce the flow of migrants.
Russia says attacked 1,097 targets in Syria since new year
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian air force jets have since the start of this year flown 311 combat sorties in Syria and attacked 1,097 terrorist targets there, Russian news agencies quoted the Russian defense ministry as saying on Monday.
Migrant shelter made of shipping containers opens in France’s Calais
CALAIS, France (Reuters) – France on Monday opened a migrants’ shelter made of converted shipping containers in Calais on its northern Channel coast to try to bring some order to the so-called “jungle” camp in sand dunes near the port.
Genocide trial for Guatemala ex-dictator Rios Montt suspended
GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) – A retrial of former Guatemala dictator Efrain Rios Montt on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity was suspended again for the court to resolve outstanding legal petitions, a judge said on Monday.
Magnitude 6.1 quake strikes 127 km west of Hokkaido, Japan: USGS
(Reuters) – A magnitude 6.1 quake struck in the ocean 127 km (79 miles) west of the city of Asahikawa on the Japanese island of Hokkaido early on Tuesday morning, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
