EU wants Serbia accession talks to begin in earnest this year
BELGRADE (Reuters) – The European Union said on Friday it was a priority to open the first chapters in accession negotiations with Serbia by the end of the year, after a delay caused by foot-dragging in relations between Belgrade and its former Kosovo …
U.S. allies conduct 16 air strikes in Syria, Iraq
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. and coalition forces conducted 10 air strikes against Islamic State fighters in Iraq during a 24-hour period, while U.S. forces led six air strikes in Syria, the U.S. military said on Friday.
Turkey passes tough new security law, raising fears of election crackdowns
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s parliament overwhelmingly passed a security law on Friday to broaden police powers and allow the use of firearms against demonstrators, deepening fears of crackdowns on dissent ahead of parliamentary elections.
No U-turn on road to press freedom, Myanmar says, but critics disagree
YANGON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Myanmar’s commitment to freedom of expression after half a century of military rule is irreversible, the government said on Friday, although critics cited lawsuits, beatings and arrests of journalists as signs of i…
Russian Orthodox Church suspends priest who blessed Ukraine-bound fighters
MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Russian Orthodox Church has suspended a priest who publicly blessed a group of fighters heading to eastern Ukraine, encouraging them to battle government troops he called “fascist scum”.
In Sudan, an unlikely path to jihad for students
KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Tasneem Hussein was a soft-spoken university student in Khartoum when the transformation slowly began.
Iran accuses Turkish leader Erdogan of fomenting regional strife
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran’s foreign minister accused Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Friday of fomenting strife in the Middle East, rebuffing his accusation that Iran was trying to dominate the region.
Kenya detains 52 in latest roundup over suspected Islamist attack
MOMBASA, Kenya (Reuters) – Police detained 52 people on Friday in Kenya’s main port city, a day after an officer was killed in a suspected Islamist revenge attack, heightening tensions in an area where the authorities say militant Islamist is spreading…
Syria’s Assad calls chlorine allegations ‘malicious propaganda’: CBS
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Bashar al-Assad of Syria dismissed as “malicious propaganda” allegations that his troops used chlorine gas in the fight against insurgent rebels, according to an interview broadcast on Friday on CBS “This Morning.”
Cambodia war crimes court charges another Khmer Rouge cadre
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) – An international judge at a war crimes court in Cambodia charged another former Khmer Rouge cadre with crimes against humanity on Friday, in a further widening of its net of suspects in the tribunal’s most sensitive cases yet.
