French weapons arrive in Lebanon in $3 billion Saudi-funded deal
BEIRUT (Reuters) – The first shipment of French weapons and military equipment arrived in Lebanon on Monday, part of a Saudi-funded deal worth $3 billion to bolster the Lebanese army to help it fight militants encroaching from neighboring Syria.
Strong quake hits Japan, Taiwan; tsunami warning lifted
TOKYO/TAIPEI (Reuters) – A strong earthquake rattled Taiwan and small islands in the far south of Japan on Monday, official monitoring sites said, briefly prompting a warning for a 1-metre tsunami for the Okinawa island chain.
Migrant deaths may shame Europe over Mediterranean moat
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The outrage Europe’s leaders face over the deaths of hundreds of refugees trying to reach its shores may force a shift in a policy critics decry as letting people drown to deter others in desperate need.
Media reports say Mexican police were involved in January killings
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Three media outlets said on Sunday that Mexican federal police killed 16 unarmed people in two separate attacks in January, appearing to contradict an account by the federal government that the deaths could have been caused by f…
Millionaire businessman wins Finland vote, euroskeptics take second place
HELSINKI (Reuters) – A millionaire former telecoms executive touted as a technocrat capable of rescuing Finland from economic slump won Sunday’s parliamentary election, but he will likely need coalition support from a second-placed euroskeptic party cr…
Greece’s Varoufakis warns of Grexit contagion
MADRID (Reuters) – Greece’s Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said in an interview broadcast on Sunday that if Greece were to leave the euro zone, there would be an inevitable contagion effect.
Chinese president to launch economic corridor link in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Chinese president Xi Jinping is due in Pakistan on Monday where he will launch $46 billion in projects linking the old allies, a figure that far exceeds U.S. spending in Pakistan and underscores China’s projection of power in Asia…
Hundreds drown off Libya, EU leaders forced to reconsider migrant crisis
PALERMO, Italy (Reuters) – As many as 700 migrants were feared dead on Sunday after their boat capsized in the Mediterranean, raising pressure on Europe to face down anti-immigrant bias and find money for support as turmoil in Libya and the Middle East…
Iraqi Kurdish forces widen buffer around oil-rich city of Kirkuk
ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) – Kurdish authorities said their forces, backed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, drove Islamic State militants from an 84 square kilometer (32 sq mile) area in northern Iraq over the weekend, widening a buffer around the oil-rich…
Iraqi Shi’ite militia says DNA tests prove Saddam aide dead
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – An Iraqi Shi’ite militia group said on Sunday it had conducted DNA tests to prove the death of Ezzat al-Douri, former right-hand man to the late president Saddam Hussein, who after the 2003 U.S. invasion was ranked by Washington as …
