Russia escalating Syria war by targeting moderate opposition: U.S.
MADRID (Reuters) – Russia is escalating Syria’s civil war by targeting the moderate opposition, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Monday, comparing Moscow’s effort to bolster Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to tethering itself to a sinking shi…
Saudi opposition clerics make sectarian call to jihad in Syria
RIYADH (Reuters) – Dozens of Islamist Saudi Arabian clerics have called on Arab and Muslim countries to “give all moral, material, political and military” support to what they term a jihad, or holy war, against Syria’s government and its Iranian and Ru…
Pope says Church can’t be ‘museum’, must be open to change
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis told a Roman Catholic meeting on family issues on Monday that the Church should not be a stuffy “museum of memories” but have the courage to change if that was what God wanted.
Norway raises 2015 asylum seeker forecast, sees more next year
OSLO (Reuters) – Norway raised its prediction on Monday for how many people will seek asylum in the country in 2015, the third such increase in just a few weeks as the influx from Syria to western Europe’s northernmost nation grows.
Irish naval ship rescues 242 people near Libya: defense forces
DUBLIN (Reuters) – An Irish naval ship rescued 242 people from wooden crafts near the Libyan capital of Tripoli in its first operation since being deployed to assist an international migrant rescue effort, Ireland’s Defense Forces said on Monday.
Gulf Arabs wrest strategic Yemen island from Iran-allied group
PERIM ISLAND, YEMEN (Reuters) – Perim Island may be a small lump of windswept volcanic rock at the entrance to the Red Sea but its capture by Gulf Arab forces from Houthi fighters was a welcome victory for Yemen’s government and its allies.
Greek, Austrian leaders to visit Lesbos over refugee crisis
ATHENS (Reuters) – Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann will become the first European Union leader on Tuesday to visit the Greek island of Lesbos to see the impact of Europe’s migrant crisis on one of the refugees’ preferred entry points into the EU.
Turkish PM condemns video of militant’s body dragged by car
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s prime minister condemned dissemination of a video purporting to show a dead Kurdish militant dragged through the streets tied by the neck to an armored police vehicle, images that could further inflame tension in the country…
Wreckage of Indonesian turboprop plane found
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesian authorities on Monday said they had found the wreckage of an Aviastar airline Twin Otter turboprop aircraft that went missing over Sulawesi island last week with 10 people on board.
North Korea frees South Korean student held since April
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea repatriated a South Korean college student who holds a U.S. green card on Monday, six months after capturing him crossing into the country from China, South Korea’s Unification Ministry said.
