Militia in northern Mali battles Tuaregs in threat to peace talks
BAMAKO (Reuters) – A pro-government militia in Mali said on Monday it had killed 20 separatists in three days of fighting that the U.N. peacekeeping mission said undermined efforts to pacify the northern region of the country.
North Korea retaliates against South with loudspeaker propaganda
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea on Monday resumed a campaign of loudspeakers blasting propaganda across its border with South Korea, days after the South took a similar step in response to a landmine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
Mexico blocks military’s testimony on slain students: Americas group
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – An international human rights body said on Monday that Mexico’s government denied it interviews with military personnel in the case of 43 students who were abducted and apparently massacred last year.
South Sudan’s president declines to sign proposed peace deal
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – South Sudan President Salva Kiir declined to sign a peace deal proposed by regional leaders on Monday, saying he required more time, the mediator of the crisis said.
Syrian army bombards Douma as air raid toll rises: monitor
BEIRUT (Reuters) – The Syrian military bombarded an area northeast of Damascus on Monday, keeping up its attack on a rebel-held district where around 100 people were killed on Sunday in an air strike on a market, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights…
Pentagon eyes sharp increase in drone flights by 2019: official
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Pentagon is planning a sharp increase in daily drone flights over conflict zones around the globe in the next four years as it tries to meet the reconnaissance and air strike needs of combatant commanders, a spokesman said on…
Turkey’s nationalists reject coalition, set stage for more turmoil
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s nationalist opposition rejected a coalition with the ruling AK Party and refused to support a minority government on Monday, further complicating Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s efforts to break a debilitating political dea…
U.S., allies conduct 18 air strikes in Syria, Iraq: U.S. military
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A coalition led by the United States conducted 13 air strikes against the Islamic State in Iraq on Sunday, and it also targeted the militant group in Syria with five air attacks, according to a statement released on Monday.
Use Iran deal to prevent nuclear weapons free-for-all, treaty body says
VIENNA (Reuters) – The head of the body trying to secure ratification of a global ban on nuclear testing urged world leaders on Monday to use the momentum of an atomic deal with Iran to prevent a slide toward a nuclear weapons free-for-all.
Civilians, soldiers die in east Ukraine fighting as Putin visits Crimea
KIEV (Reuters) – Fighting flared between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed rebels in separate parts of eastern Ukraine overnight, killing at least two Ukrainian soldiers and several civilians, Kiev’s military and separatist sources said on Monday.
