NATO chief to make first visit to Ukraine amid strains with Moscow
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – NATO’s secretary general will make his first visit to Ukraine this month, Ukraine’s foreign minister said on Monday, dismissing the idea that this would provoke Moscow, which is backing the pro-Russian rebellion in eastern Ukraine….
Nigeria’s Buhari issues state payments deadline in anti-graft drive
ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has set a deadline for ministries to start using approved government bank accounts to make payments — part of his drive to stamp out corruption — after some offcials were slow to comply.
Turkish jets strike PKK targets after deadly militant attack
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) – Turkish warplanes bombed Kurdish insurgent targets overnight after the militants staged what appeared to be their deadliest attack since the collapse of a two-year-old ceasefire in July and killed 16 government soldiers.
Trial opens of 10 accused of recruiting Dutch Muslims for Islamic State
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Ten suspected Islamist radicals went on trial in the Netherlands on Monday, accused of recruiting Dutch Muslims to fight with Islamic State insurgents in Iraq and Syria.
U.S. rethinks strategy for battling Islamic State in Syria: NYT
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is rethinking its strategy for battling the Islamic State in Syria, the New York Times reported on Monday, with the Pentagon looking into moving more fighters into safer zones, providing better intelligence and …
Clooney arrives in Maldives in bid to free jailed ex-leader
MALE (Reuters) – International human rights lawyer Amal Clooney arrived in Male on Monday to try to secure the release of jailed former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed, who was convicted of terrorism in a case that has drawn international criticism….
Kenya plans offensive against Islamist militants in coastal forest
MOMBASA (Reuters) – Kenya plans to launch a military offensive against Islamist militants who have set up bases in a remote forest at the northern tip of its Indian Ocean coastline bordering Somalia, a police official said on Monday.
Iraqi team to probe alleged Islamic State chemical attacks on Kurds: diplomats
THE HAGUE (Reuters) – A team of Iraqi government experts will go to Iraq’s Kurdish autonomous region this week to investigate allegations that Islamic State (IS) insurgents have used chemical weapons against Kurdish forces, diplomats said on Monday.
Venezuelan security crackdown spurs rights abuse complaints
VALENCIA, Venezuela (Reuters) – When Venezuelan troops and police launched an early-morning raid on the slum neighborhood of Brisas del Hipodromo last month, they detained hundreds of men without presenting arrest warrants and used heavy machinery to d…
Seven Libyan soldiers killed fighting off Islamists near Benghazi: source
BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) – At least seven Libyan soldiers were killed repelling an attack on their post by Islamist militants eight km (five miles) southwest of the eastern city of Benghazi on Monday, a military source told Reuters.
