Pakistan military says air strikes kill 25 militants in northwest
BANNU, Pakistan (Reuters) – Military air strikes killed at least 25 suspected militants in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, two intelligence officials said, taking to 133 the army’s toll of insurgents in the region this week.
Escaped Yazidi sex slaves need mental health support-aid group
TORONTO (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A year after their capture by Islamic State militants, escaped sex slaves from the Yazidi minority are reaching northern Iraq, but get almost none of the psychological support they need after their ordeal of rape,…
Bulgaria tries to stem rising migrant influx at its borders
LESOVO, Bulgaria (Reuters) – Bulgaria has beefed up its border police, installed cameras and motion censors, and is extending a security fence that will cover 160 km (100 miles) of its border with Turkey, and yet more and more migrants keep arriving.
Suicide truck bomb targets Kurdish security agency in Syria
BEIRUT (Reuters) – A suicide bomber set off a truck bomb outside offices of a Kurdish security agency in northeastern Syria on Wednesday, killing at least 11 people in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.
Typhoid breaks out in Syria’s Yarmouk camp, situation desperate: U.N.
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Typhoid has broken out among residents of the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Syria, the United Nations said on Wednesday, warning of further disease outbreaks because of the appalling conditions there unless a…
Mali’s Islamist conflict spreads as new militant group emerges
BAMAKO/SEVARE (Reuters) – Imam Elhadji Sekou Ba was one of the few people in his village of Barkerou who dared to speak out against the rise of Islamist militants in central Mali, denouncing in his sermons the young men taking up arms in the name of re…
China blast warehouse executives used connections to get safety approvals: Xinhua
TIANJIN, China (Reuters) – Chinese state media on Wednesday appeared to convict executives of a company whose chemical warehouse exploded last week killing 114 people of slipshod practices at least, saying they used connections to obtain fire safety an…
Abbas orders Palestinian NGO closed in spat with former deputy
RAMALLAH (Reuters) – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has issued a decree to close an internationally funded Palestinian peace center run by a political rival, a government official said on Wednesday.
Zimbabwe cracks down on sackings, employers cry foul
HARARE (Reuters) – Zimbabwe’s government and opposition joined forces to push through legislation making it harder for firms to sack workers, pleasing powerful unions but angering employers who said it would hurt an already struggling economy.
Tsipras said not to have decided on early Greek elections, left rebels turn up heat
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has yet to make up his mind on calling early elections, a government minister said on Wednesday, following a rift in the ruling party over the country’s new bailout deal.
