Egypt extends opening of Rafah crossing into Gaza for two days
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered that the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip remain open in both directions for a further two days, state news agency MENA reported on Monday.
First families return to Tikrit since city retaken from IS
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Hundreds of people displaced from the Iraqi city of Tikrit started to return home on Monday, three months after pro-government forces recaptured former president Saddam Hussein’s hometown from Islamic State militants.
NGOs demand release of detained pro-democracy activists in Congo
KINSHASA (Reuters) – More than 200 domestic and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) called on Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday to release two young activists arrested in March during a raid on a pro-democracy meeting in the capita…
Hong Kong arrests nine suspected of bomb-making plot ahead of poll reform vote
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong police arrested nine people and seized suspected explosives, authorities said on Monday, as the city goes on high alert ahead of a crucial vote on a China-backed electoral reform package that sparked widespread protests …
Turkey seeks progress on more focused, inclusive G20 growth plan
BODRUM, Turkey (Reuters) – The world’s leading economies have narrowed down their commitments to boost global growth under a G20 plan and should be able to demonstrate progress by the end of Turkey’s G20 presidency this year, a senior Turkish official …
British royals mark 800th anniversary of world-changing Magna Carta
RUNNYMEDE, England (Reuters) – Britain’s Queen Elizabeth led celebrations on Monday to mark 800 years since the sealing of the Magna Carta, one of the world’s most significant historical documents and credited with paving the way for modern freedoms an…
Russia to boost forces in western flank if U.S. stations arms in east Europe: Ifax
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Stationing heavy U.S. military equipment in the Baltic states and eastern Europe would amount to “the most aggressive step by the Pentagon and NATO” since the Cold War, Interfax news agency quoted a Russian Defense Ministry official …
Calls grow for inquiry into alleged Australian people-smuggler payments
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Calls grew on Monday for an inquiry into reports that Australian officials paid people-smugglers bound for Australia thousands of dollars to turn their boat back to Indonesia, with Jakarta and the United Nations also expressing serio…
North Korean soldier walks across DMZ in bid to defect to South
SEOUL (Reuters) – A teenaged North Korean soldier walked across the world’s most heavily militarized border on Monday in a bid to defect to South Korea, South Korean Defense Ministry officials said.
Seventeen killed in battles near Iraq’s Baiji refinery
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Seventeen people were killed in Iraq on Monday in clashes between Islamic State militants and pro-government forces in a town close to the country’s biggest refinery, a focal point in efforts to counter the ultra-hardline Sunni grou…
