Special Report: How Iran’s military chiefs operate in Iraq
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – The face stares out from multiple billboards in central Baghdad, a grey-haired general casting a watchful eye across the Iraqi capital. This military commander is not Iraqi, though. He’s Iranian.
Egypt’s Sisi issues decree widening scope of security crackdown
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has signed off on an anti-terrorism law that gives authorities more sweeping powers to ban groups on charges ranging from harming national unity to disrupting public order.
Indonesia says executions won’t be delayed despite mercy pleas
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s president said on Tuesday the planned execution of 11 convicts on death row, most on drugs charges, would not be delayed, warning foreign countries not to intervene in his government’s right to use capital punishment.
Japanese media self-censorship grows in PM Abe’s reign
TOKYO (Reuters) – Worries are growing in Japan about a trend of media self-censorship as journalists and experts say news organizations are toning down criticism of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government for fear of sparking ire and losing access to so…
Saudi court gives death penalty to man who renounced his Muslim faith
RIYADH (Reuters) – An Islamic court in Saudi Arabia has sentenced a man to death for renouncing his Muslim faith, the English-language daily Saudi Gazette reported on Tuesday.
Kazakh ex-diplomat Aliyev found hanged in Austrian jail
VIENNA (Reuters) – Rakhat Aliyev, the Kazakh president’s former son-in-law turned political arch enemy, has been found dead in an Austrian jail after killing himself, a court spokeswoman said on Tuesday, but his lawyers said they doubted he had taken h…
Ukraine peace deal only way forward: EU’s Mogherini
LONDON (Reuters) – A European-brokered ceasefire deal remains the only way to secure peace in Ukraine, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Tuesday.
Nepal army officer to be tried for torture in London
LONDON/KATHMANDU (Reuters) – A Nepali army colonel is to go on trial at London’s Old Bailey on Tuesday on charges of torture during a 10-year civil war, in a case the government of the Himalayan state has sought in vain to keep out of the courts.
Egyptian court acquits top Mubarak era officials on graft charges: sources
CAIRO (Reuters) – An Egyptian court on Tuesday acquitted two top Hosni Mubarak-era officials of graft charges at a retrial, judicial sources said, a day after a prominent activist was sentenced to five years in jail.
U.S., South Korea to start military drills amid tension with North
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea and the United States will begin eight weeks of joint military drills starting March 2, military officials said on Tuesday, an annual exercise that typically provokes heightened rhetoric and military threats from North Kor…
