A trench in Iraq exacerbates Sunni fears of sectarian partition
HILLA, Iraq (Reuters) – The local official drew a line on a map slicing through farmland and desert southwest of Baghdad whose Sunni Muslim residents have been displaced by fighting, and then pointed just south to the site of the most revered Shi’ite s…
French court stays extradition of Argentine in ‘dirty war’ case
PARIS (Reuters) – France’s highest court struck down on Wednesday a decision to pursue extradition to Argentina for an ex-police officer accused of crimes against humanity four decades ago during that country’s “dirty war,” ruling the case should be re…
Jordanian rapper sues Netanyahu and his party over campaign clip
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – A Jordanian hip-hop group has taken legal action against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party after one of its songs was used in a campaign video for Israel’s election next month.
Bomb blast kills 2 at Shi’ite mosque in Pakistan’s Rawalpindi
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – A bomb blast in a Shi’ite mosque killed two people and injured six in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi on Wednesday, a hospital spokesman said, the latest in a string of deadly attacks targeting the minority sect over the past mon…
India clears $8 billion warships project to counter Chinese navy
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s government has cleared a $8 billion plan to build the country’s most advanced warships, defense sources said, just months after ordering new submarines to close the gap with the Chinese navy in the Indian Ocean.
Azerbaijan extends detention of human rights activist held without trial
BAKU (Reuters) – An Azeri human rights activist held without trial since July had her detention extended for five months by a court in Baku on Wednesday, her lawyer said, a case critics decry as part of a government-led crackdown on dissent.
U.S. leads 16 more air strikes against Islamic State: statement
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S.-led coalition has staged 16 air strikes against Islamic State, including 14 in Iraq and two in Syria, the Combined Joint Task Force said in a statement.
Tunisia militants kill four police in checkpoint attack
TUNIS (Reuters) – Around 20 al Qaeda-linked Islamist militants attacked a checkpoint in Tunisia’s central Kasserine region, killing four police officers and stealing their weapons, the government said on Wednesday.
Fierce crackdown on dissent no laughing matter in Egypt
CAIRO (Reuters) – When President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said people should not moan about Egypt because it was not like war-ravaged Iraq or Syria, his remark gave birth to a joke: New Egyptian passports should read “The Country not like Iraq or Syria.”
India under pressure to explain who blew up Pakistani boat
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The Indian government is under pressure to explain what caused a Pakistani fishing boat to explode, killing four people on board in mysterious circumstances, after a senior Indian coast guard official said it was deliberately targ…
