U.S. coalition target Islamic State with 21 air strikes: statement
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States and its partner nations conducted 21 air strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq since early on Wednesday, the Combined Joint Task Force leading the operation said on Thursday.
Saudi border guard killed on Yemen frontier: SPA
RIYADH (Reuters) – A mortar shell killed a Saudi Arabian border guard patrolling on the frontier with Yemen on Thursday, the Interior Ministry said, bringing to 11 the number of Saudi Arabia’s casualties during its five-week campaign against Yemen’s Ho…
Western leaders agree ceasefire in Ukraine needs to stabilize: Germany
BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande held a telephone conversation with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine on Thursday to discuss the fragile ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, Merkel’s spokesman said.
Greece signals concessions in crunch talks with lenders
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece’s government signaled the biggest concessions so far as crunch talks with lenders on a cash-for-reforms package started in earnest on Thursday, but tried to assure leftist supporters it had not abandoned its anti-austerity pri…
Shared battlefield goals trump ideology among Syria rebels – for now
REYHANLI, Turkey (Reuters) – Hardline Islamists fighting side-by-side with groups backed by the United States have made gains in northern Syria in recent weeks while showing rare unity, which some fear may be short-lived.
Ukrainian oligarch Firtash denies graft as he fights extradition to the U.S.
VIENNA (Reuters) – Billionaire Ukrainian industrialist Dmytro Firtash declared he was innocent of bribery and money-laundering as an Austrian court began deliberating on Thursday whether to extradite him to the United States to face corruption charges….
Germanwings pilot was briefly refused medical certificate in U.S.
BERLIN/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. authorities temporarily refused a private pilot’s medical certificate in 2010 for Andreas Lubitz, the pilot suspected of deliberately crashing a Germanwings plane last month, according to documents released by the Fed…
Hungary’s Orban climbs down on death penalty amid EU uproar
BUDAPEST/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Prime Minister Viktor Orban backed away from suggestions Hungary might re-introduce the death penalty on Thursday after angry criticism from European Union allies.
Italy’s Renzi wins final confidence vote on electoral law
ROME (Reuters) – Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi won the third of three confidence votes on a fiercely contested new electoral law in parliament on Thursday, moving a step closer to passing a reform he has staked his reputation on.
IMF says to visit Kiev May 12 to review bailout program
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund is set to go to Ukraine on May 12 to review Kiev’s progress with conditions of its $17.5 billion bailout program, an IMF spokesman said on Thursday.
