Iraq defense ministry says Islamic State’s second-in-command killed
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq’s Defence Ministry said on Wednesday the deputy commander of Islamic State insurgents had been killed in a coalition air strike on a mosque where he was meeting with other militants in the north of the country.
U.S., NATO say Russia must fully implement Ukraine ceasefire
ANTALYA, Turkey (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called for a halt to fighting around the Ukrainian coastal town of Shyrokyne on Wednesday as NATO backed his demand that Russia fully implement a Ukraine ceasefire agreement.
Russian court quashes bid to jail Kremlin critic Navalny
MOSCOW (Reuters) – A Moscow court on Wednesday rejected a bid by law enforcement officials to have Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny jailed for violating the terms of his suspended five-year sentence on embezzlement charges.
Obama praises Saudi leaders, says plans to discuss Yemen in meeting
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama said on Wednesday he would discuss with Saudi Arabia’s visiting leaders how to build on a ceasefire in Yemen and praised the country for being a critical U.S. ally in the fight against Islamic State mi…
UK Prince Charles’ letters to ministers finally made public
LONDON (Reuters) – Prince Charles said British troops were under-resourced during the war in Iraq, according to letters from him published on Wednesday which the government had tried to keep secret in case they cast doubt over the future king’s politic…
Kerry to tell China U.S. committed to free South China Sea movement
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will leave China “in absolutely no doubt” about Washington’s commitment to freedom of navigation and flight in the South China Sea when he visits Beijing this weekend, a senior State Department …
Absent from Obama summit, Bahrain king expected at UK horse show
DUBAI (Reuters) – Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Issa al-Khalifa has skipped a Gulf Arab summit with U.S. President Barack Obama, but is expected to join Britain’s Queen Elizabeth at a horse show near London, a show representative said.
Israel’s vulnerable governing coalition passes first test
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s emerging government scraped by its first parliamentary test on Wednesday, paving the way for the new cabinet to be sworn in after two months of difficult coalition building.
U.S.-led coalition targets Islamic State with 16 air strikes: statement
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States and its allies have conducted 16 air strikes since early on Tuesday targeting Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq, the Combined Joint Task Force carrying out the operations said on Wednesday.
North Korea executes defense chief with an anti-aircraft gun: South Korea agency
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea executed its defense chief by putting him in front of an anti-aircraft gun at a firing range, Seoul’s National Intelligence Service told lawmakers, which would be the latest in a series of high-level purges since Kim Jong …
