Iraqi troops, militia make advances near Tikrit
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi security forces and Shi’ite militia fighting the Islamic State took control of the center of a town on the southern outskirts of Saddam Hussein’s home city Tikrit on Sunday, security officials said.
Iraq calls for air power to protect antiquities
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq urged a U.S.-led military coalition on Sunday to use air power to protect the country’s antiquities from Islamic State fighters looting and destroying some of the world’s greatest archaeological treasures.
Oman jails rights activist who wrote letter to Obama
DUBAI (Reuters) – An Omani court jailed a prominent activist for three years on Sunday for a range of offences including undermining the state, a charge a newspaper said was related to an open letter to U.S. President Barack Obama about human rights in…
Police arrest 22 people in India after mob lynches rape suspect
Guwahati (Reuters) – Indian police arrested 22 people on Sunday over last week’s storming of a high security prison in the northeast of the country and subsequent lynching of a rape suspect, an act of mob violence that sparked protests in a region divi…
Juncker calls for EU army, says would deter Russia
BERLIN (Reuters) – The European Union needs its own army to face up to Russia and other threats as well as restore the bloc’s foreign policy standing around the world, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told a German newspaper on Sunday.
No sign Putin has changed strategy on Ukraine: UK foreign minister
LONDON (Reuters) – British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said on Sunday he had detected no change in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s strategic intentions towards Ukraine, despite a reduction in violence following the Minsk ceasefire agreement.
Man held for killing Nemtsov admits involvement: judge
MOSCOW (Reuters) – A Russian judge on Sunday said a man detained on suspicion of killing opposition figure Boris Nemtsov had admitted to investigators that he was involved in the killing.
Malaysian PM vows to keep up search for MH370, report offers no new clues
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Sunday Malaysia remained committed to the search for the missing MH370 jetliner a year after it vanished without trace, and a report by international investigators offered no new clues as to i…
Israeli intelligence chief visits United States
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s top intelligence officer will visit the United States this week, sources with knowledge of the itinerary said; a sign that security cooperation continues despite disputes between the countries’ leaders over strategy over …
Leader of Spain’s Podemos: stop austerity to halt far-right’s rise
MADRID (Reuters) – Europe must stop its austerity policies or watch far-right movements continue to grow and pose a real danger to democracy, said Pablo Iglesias, leader of Spain’s Podemos party that like Greece’s Syriza aims to offer a leftist alterna…
