Syria gets information on U.S.-led air strikes via Iraq: Assad
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said third parties including Iraq were conveying information to Damascus about the U.S.-led campaign of air strikes against the Islamic State militant group in Syria.
Ukraine’s Poroshenko asks parliament to agree to dismiss prosecutor
KIEV (Reuters) – Ukraine’s president has asked parliament to agree to the dismissal of General Prosecutor Vitaliy Yarema, according to the text of an official request posted on the parliamentary website on Tuesday.
2,000 reconnaissance troops stage exercises in Russia: Interfax
MOSCOW (Reuters) – About 2,000 Russian reconnaissance troops have started exercises in southern Russia, Interfax news agency reported on Tuesday, a day before a summit on the Ukraine crisis in the Belarussian capital Minsk.
Japan global PR message could misfire with focus on wartime past
TOKYO (Reuters) – A push by Japan to correct perceived bias in accounts of the country’s wartime past is creating a row that risks muddling the positive message in a mammoth public relations campaign to win friends abroad.
Greek defense minister says Greece has Plan B if EU rigid on deal
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said that if Greece failed to get a new debt agreement with the euro zone, it could always look elsewhere for help.
Polish defense minister says supplying arms to Ukraine is last option
WARSAW (Reuters) – Supplying arms to Ukraine is a final option, but one worth avoiding, as it could trigger an escalation of the conflict in the country’s east, Polish Defence Minister Tomasz Siemoniak said on Tuesday.
Philippine Muslim rebels to return guns of commandos killed in deadly raid
MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines’ largest Muslim rebel group has promised to return weapons seized from police commandos killed in a deadly clash, the chief negotiator for the guerrillas said on Tuesday, in a bid to save a peace process with the gove…
Obama readying request to use force against Islamic State
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House will ask Congress by Wednesday for new authority to use force against Islamic State fighters, congressional aides said on Monday, paving the way for lawmakers’ first vote on the scope of a campaign that is already…
Hong Kong woman found guilty of abusing Indonesian maid
HONG KONG (Reuters) – A Hong Kong mother of two was found guilty on Tuesday of abusing her Indonesian domestic helper in a landmark case that triggered outrage over mistreatment of maids and shed light on abuse that many women face in overseas jobs.
Taiwan’s China affairs chief steps down over court ruling
TAIPEI (Reuters) – The chief of Taiwan’s China policy-making body, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), resigned on Tuesday after objecting to a court ruling clearing a former deputy of leaking sensitive information to mainland China.
