Islamic State leader killed in air strike linked to two Paris attackers
PARIS (Reuters) – Charaffe al Mouadan, an Islamic State leader killed by air strikes in Syria last week, was linked to at least two Paris attackers and had trained in a local shooting club with one of them, officials said on Wednesday.
Rwandan pastor jailed for life for genocide-era crimes
NAIROBI (Reuters) – A Rwandan pastor accused of leading and coordinating attacks on minority Tutsis during Rwanda’s 1994 genocide has been sentenced to life imprisonment, Rwanda’s high court said on Wednesday.
Iraq risks losing generation due to lack of schools, healthcare: UNICEF
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Preventing violence from depriving millions of children in Iraq of education and decent healthcare is a key humanitarian priority for the country in 2016, a senior U.N. official said on Wednesday.
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.
