Afghan court commutes death sentences in woman’s mob killing
KABUL (Reuters) – An appeals court in Afghanistan’s capital has set aside death sentences for four men convicted in the mob killing of a woman accused of burning a Koran, media and a judge said Thursday.
Iraqi forces say most of Baiji town recaptured from Islamic State
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi forces have cleared Islamic State militants from most of the northern town of Baiji and hope to drive them from the nearby oil refinery within days, a spokesman for the Shi’ite militias leading the fight said on Thursday.
Iran talks are not near breakthrough yet, Britain’s Hammond
VIENNA (Reuters) – Nuclear talks between Iran and six major powers are not near a breakthrough yet and foreign ministers will come and go to try to maintain momentum toward a deal, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said on Thursday.
Attack on U.N. convoy in northern Mali kills five, wounds six
BAMAKO (Reuters) – Five people were killed and another six severely wounded in an attack on a United Nations convoy in northern Mali, a spokesperson for the country’s U.N. peacekeeping mission said on Thursday.
China navy holds first missile combat resupply drill
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s navy held its first drill simulating the resupply of missiles in a combat environment in the Yellow Sea, the Defence Ministry said on Thursday, the latest sign of the country’s growing military prowess.
U.N. refugee agency urges Hungary not to tighten asylum rules
BUDAPEST (Reuters) – The U.N. refugee agency urged Hungary on Thursday not to pass a bill aimed at tightening asylum rules, saying the move would make it impossible for Budapest to give sanctuary to anyone fleeing war-stricken countries.
Sabotage suspected as Pakistan troop train plunges into canal, killing 12
LAHORE, Pakistan/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – A train carrying hundreds of Pakistan military personnel and their families plunged into a canal on Thursday, killing 12 soldiers, when a bridge collapsed in what the army suspects was sabotage, officials said.
British woman charged with being member of Islamic State
LONDON (Reuters) – British police said on Thursday they had charged a 26-year-old woman with being a member of Islamic State and inciting terrorism on social media.
Tanzania gives free land to coax flood victims from disaster zones
DAR ES SALAAM (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The short video that Matilda Kasele plays on her phone shows water rushing into her house, submerging all her belongings.
‘Wow, pulled back wrong throttle:’ captain of crashed TransAsia plane
TAIPEI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The pilot flying a TransAsia Airways ATR mistakenly switched off the plane’s only working engine seconds before it crashed in February, killing 43 people, Taiwan’s Aviation Safety Council (ASC) said in its latest report on …
