Exclusive: Japan interested in joining NATO missile consortium
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan is interested in joining a NATO missile building consortium that would give Tokyo its first taste of a multinational defense project, a move the U.S. Navy is encouraging because it could pave the way for Japan to lead similar pa…
Taiwan’s China-friendly KMT mimics Chiang Kai-shek’s fall from pedestal
TAOYUAN, Taiwan (Reuters) – Dumped outside Chiang Kai-shek’s mausoleum in Taiwan are nearly 200 unwanted statues of the Nationalist Party hero, a suggestion of the punishment his party faces in January elections for pushing the self-ruled island too cl…
U.S. spy agency tapped German chancellery for decades: WikiLeaks
BERLIN (Reuters) – The U.S. National Security Agency tapped phone calls involving German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her closest advisers for years and spied on the staff of her predecessors, according to WikiLeaks.
U.N. says Yemen’s warring factions agree to humanitarian truce
DUBAI/SANAA (Reuters) – Yemen’s warring factions confirmed their agreement on Thursday to a temporary humanitarian ceasefire set to begin on Friday night, United Nations envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said.
New Yemeni al Qaeda leader calls for attacks on United States
DUBAI (Reuters) – The new leader of al Qaeda’s Yemen branch has called for attacks on the United States in his first speech since taking command, the U.S.-based SITE monitoring group reported on Thursday, citing an audio recording.
12 migrants drown, 500 rescued in Mediterranean off Libya
ROME (Reuters) – Twelve migrants died on Thursday when their overcrowded rubber dinghy sank off the coast of Libya, the Italian Coast Guard said, while some 500 were rescued in the latest episodes in the Mediterranean migrant crisis.
Syrian army says it’s closing in on Islamic State in Palmyra
BEIRUT (Reuters) – The Syrian army said on Thursday it was closing in on Islamic State militants in control of Palmyra, in a major offensive to recapture the city of Roman ruins from the jihadists.
U.S. lawmakers blast State Department over Kabul embassy delays
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers criticized the State Department for construction delays and cost overruns at the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan on Thursday, saying they waste taxpayer dollars and put employees’ lives at unnecessary risk.
Saud al-Faisal, Saudi foreign minister for 40 years, dies
RIYADH (Reuters) – Former Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal died on Thursday, Saudi Arabian sources and media close to the kingdom’s ruling family reported, two months after he was replaced following 40 years in the job.
In Baghdad, end of a curfew brings Ramadan joy
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – It’s 1.30 a.m. and the Aroma Café in an affluent district of Baghdad is buzzing, packed with people enjoying a traditional pre-dawn Suhoor meal before starting their daily Ramadan fast.
