Exclusive: Philippines reinforcing rusting ship on Spratly reef outpost – sources
MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippine navy is quietly reinforcing the hull and deck of a rusting ship it ran aground on a disputed South China Sea reef in 1999 to stop it breaking apart, determined to hold the shoal as Beijing creates a string of man-made …
Greek PM Tspiras faces party revolt over bailout deal
BRUSSELS/ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece’s leftwing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras faces a showdown with rebels in his own party on Tuesday furious at his capitulation to German demands for one of the most sweeping austerity packages ever demanded of a euro z…
U.S. considers training Ukrainian army troops: general
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. officials are considering expanding the American military training mission in Ukraine to include army and special operations troops, likely focusing on issues like tactics and combat medicine, a top U.S. Army general said on…
U.N. hopes ‘tax inspectors without borders’ will combat tax dodging
ADDIS ABABA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Backers of a new initiative, dubbed “tax inspectors without borders”, say it can help poor countries crackdown on tax dodging and fund their own development, but advocacy groups on Monday were skeptical that i…
Houthi attack sets refinery ablaze in Yemeni city Aden
ADEN (Reuters) – Houthi forces fired mortar rounds at an oil refinery in the southern Yemeni city of Aden on Monday, starting a huge fire, witnesses and local officials said.
Iraq launches offensive to drive Islamic State from biggest province
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi troops and Shi’ite Muslim militia forces attacked Islamic State fighters on several fronts on Monday in Anbar, the country’s largest province, at the start of what is likely to be a long and fiercely contested offensive.
Two Islamic State leaders killed in Syria air strike: Observatory
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Two senior Islamic State leaders were killed in an air strike in northeastern Syria on Monday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
U.S. steps up air strikes on Islamic State targets in Iraq: statement
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S.-led forces stepped up air operations in Iraq against Islamic State positions, with 29 of 39 air strikes in the country on Sunday coming near the Anbar provincial capital Ramadi, the Combined Joint Task Force leading the air …
Canadian-Israeli woman sought ‘redemption’ by helping Kurds fight IS
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – A Canadian-Israeli who was the first foreign woman to help the Kurds in their fight against Islamic State said on Monday that she had volunteered in an effort to “turn her life around” after being jailed in the United States for a…
U.N. chief disappointed Yemen humanitarian pause in fighting didn’t take hold
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is “very much disappointed” that a humanitarian pause in fighting in Yemen didn’t take hold, his spokesman said on Monday, after Saudi Arabia did not recognize the truce and contin…
