Turkey unveils Great Synagogue as Jewish population fades
EDIRNE, Turkey (Reuters) – When the domes of Edirne’s abandoned Great Synagogue caved in, Rifat Mitrani, the town’s last Jew, knew it spelled the end of nearly two millennia of Jewish heritage in this Turkish town.
Iraqi president expects U.S.-led coalition air strikes on Tikrit soon
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi President Fouad Massoum said on Wednesday that the U.S.-led coalition would soon carry out air strikes against Islamic State in the Sunni city of Tikrit, after starting aerial reconnaissance flights this week.
Polish priest jailed for seven years over child sex abuse
WARSAW (Reuters) – A Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing children in Poland and the Dominican Republic was sentenced to seven years in jail by a Polish court on Wednesday.
Three men arrested for recruiting Islamist fighters in Italy
MILAN (Reuters) – Police arrested three men on Wednesday for allegedly setting up a network in Italy to recruit Islamist fighters to be sent to Syria and Iraq, the Italian authorities said.
Police make 77 arrests in Europe-wide people trafficking crackdown
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – A large criminal gang smuggling migrants from Kosovo across the European Union’s porous south-eastern border and onwards into Western Europe has been broken up, the EU’s policing agency said on Wednesday.
U.S., allies hit Islamic State with 19 air strikes: task force
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States and its allies staged 19 air strikes on Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq in the latest round of daily attacks, the Combined Joint Task Force said on Wednesday.
Sanctions threat will not deter counter-attacks: South Sudan president
JUBA (Reuters) – South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir, fresh from being extended in office for another three years, said on Wednesday the threat of international sanctions would not keep him from retaliating against his rival.
Netanyahu picks Kulanu party head as Israel’s finance minister
TEL AVIV (Reuters) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has chosen the head of centrist Kulanu party as Israel’s next finance minister, confirming an informal offer made two days before the country’s national election.
Myanmar charges 69 protesters with rioting after police crackdown
YANGON (Reuters) – A Myanmar court laid charges, including rioting, on Wednesday against 69 students involved in a protest two weeks ago that was broken up in a police action that drew sharp criticism from Western governments, a student activist said.
Turkish cartoonists fined for suggesting Erdogan is gay
ANKARA (Reuters) – Two Turkish caricaturists have been fined for insulting President Tayyip Erdogan after a court ruled that one of their cartoons implied he was gay, local media said on Wednesday.
