Fame for North Korean defectors brings money, suspicion
SEOUL (Reuters) – Kang Myung-do, then son-in-law of North Korea’s premier, made a spectacular claim about Pyongyang’s nuclear capability when he defected to the South over two decades ago, asserting the secretive country had built five atomic bombs.
Iraq launches attack to retake Tikrit from Islamic State
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq’s armed forces, backed by Shi’ite militia, attacked Islamic State strongholds north of Baghdad on Monday as they launched an offensive to retake the city of Tikrit and the surrounding Sunni Muslim province of Salahuddin.
Venezuela tells U.S. embassy in Caracas: Cut staff by 80 percent
CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela on Monday ordered the U.S. embassy in Caracas to reduce staff from 100 to 17 amid the worst diplomatic flare-up between the two ideological foes since socialist President Nicolas Maduro was elected in 2013.
Kerry cautions Israel not to undercut Iran diplomacy as talks resume
MONTREUX, Switzerland (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry quietly cautioned Israel not to undercut nuclear negotiations with Iran that resumed on Monday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepared to make the case in Washington aga…
Accused al Qaeda operative wrote in code about UK bomb plot: U.S.
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A Pakistani man used a code in which women’s names substituted for bomb materials when he would email with al Qaeda about a plot to kill hundreds of people in England in 2009, a U.S. prosecutor said on Monday.
Canadian pastor missing after aid trip to North Korea
TORONTO (Reuters) – A head pastor of large Canadian church has failed to return from a humanitarian mission to North Korea, and the Canadian government has reached out to try to locate him, his Toronto-based church said on Monday.
Islamist militants shell two Libyan oilfields, port pipeline damaged
BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) – Islamist militants shelled Libya’s Bahi and Mabrouk oilfields on Monday, damaging a pipeline to the Es Sidra oil port, a spokesman for forces protecting energy infrastructure said.
Libya’s elected parliament agrees to resume U.N. talks: spokesman
BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) – Libya’s elected House of Representatives (HOR) on Monday agreed to go back to United Nations-brokered peace talks with a rival government, a week after they pulled out over a militant suicide bombing, a parliament spokesman …
Twitter, law enforcement investigate alleged Islamic State threats
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Twitter Inc and law enforcement authorities are investigating alleged threats made by Islamic State militants against the social media network’s co-founder and other employees, the company said in reaction to media reports.
Venezuela uses ‘F word’ to discredit fracking
CARACAS (Reuters) – (Editor’s Note: please be advised that paragraphs one and two contain language that may offend some readers)
