Israel tightens crackdown on Palestinian petrol bomb, stone-throwers
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel will impose a minimum four-year jail term on Palestinian petrol bombers and rock throwers and will ease open-fire regulations and impose harsher fines, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday.
Ukraine’s new military doctrine names Russia as main aggressor
KIEV (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a new military doctrine on Thursday naming Russia as the main military threat to Ukraine, according to a statement on the presidential website.
Deadlock in battle for Iraq refinery casts doubts on Mosul campaign
BAGHDAD/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Iraqi army’s failure to recapture the country’s largest oil refinery from Islamic State after 15 months of fighting is calling into question the government’s plans to retake the northern city of Mosul from the jihadis…
Pakistan’s MQM party pressures government, army with list of ‘executed’
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – The political party ruling Pakistan’s biggest city has drawn up a list of 46 members it says were killed deliberately by paramilitary Rangers in Karachi, the first time it has accused the force of a campaign of extrajudicial killi…
Greek ‘Twittergate’ shows perils of Tspiras balancing act
ATHENS (Reuters) – The resignation of a junior Greek minister hours after his appointment has exposed Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to fierce criticism and highlighted the challenge he faces to keep a fractious coalition together.
U.S. looking to advance political talks on Syria at U.N.: official
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States hopes to advance political talks on Syria in meetings at the United Nations next week and has told Russia it does not favor the Security Council issuing statement on Syria before the body meets, a U.S. State Dep…
Russian lawmaker who stood up to Kremlin is stripped of his post
MOSCOW (Reuters) – A Russian provincial lawmaker who, in a rare show of defiance, accused the Kremlin of lying about whether it sent its forces to fight in Ukraine was stripped of his seat in the local parliament on Thursday.
Putin-Obama meeting set by ‘mutual agreement’, to focus on Syria: Kremlin
MOSCOW (Reuters) – The planned meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama in New York on Sept. 28 was organized by “mutual agreement” and will focus on Syria, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.
U.N. defends arms shipment in Kenya, calls drug claim disturbing
NAIROBI (Reuters) – Weapons discovered by Kenyan authorities aboard a Norwegian ship were part of a legitimate cargo for United Nations peacekeepers and the vessel should not have been inspected without a U.N. presence, a U.N. spokesman said on Thursda…
Magnitude 6.6 quake hits off Indonesia’s Irian Jaya: USGS
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A strong earthquake measuring magnitude 6.6 struck off Indonesia’s Irian Jaya early on Friday local time at a depth of 15 miles (24 km), the U.S. Geological Survey said on Thursday.
