U.S. reports 11 air strikes against Islamic State in Syria, Iraq
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S.-led forces launched five air strikes near Kobani, Syria, and six in Iraq since Thursday in their battle against Islamic State militants, the American military said.
Rights monitor says 2,100 people died in Syrian prisons last year
BEIRUT (Reuters) – At least 2,100 people died in Syrian prisons last year and the bodies of many showed signs of torture, a monitoring group said on Friday, quoting the families of deceased detainees.
Saudi says arrests seven Saudis, Syrians over suicide border attack
DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia has arrested three Saudi nationals and four Syrians over links to a suicide bombing and gun attack on the kingdom’s border with Iraq, the first ground assault by militants on the frontier in years.
Exclusive: Paris attack suspect met prominent al Qaeda preacher in Yemen – intelligence source
SANAA (Reuters) – One of two brothers suspected of carrying out the deadly shooting at a French satirical weekly met leading al Qaeda preacher Anwar al Awlaki during a stay in Yemen in 2011, a senior Yemeni intelligence source told Reuters on Friday.
Cameroon appeals for international military aid to fight Boko Haram
YAOUNDE (Reuters) – Cameroon’s President Paul Biya has appealed for international military help to fight Islamist militant group Boko Haram, which this week threatened to step up its cross-border raids into the country from Nigeria.
Leader of Latvia’s Russian-speakers fears sanctions backfiring
RIGA (Reuters) – It’s not so much the risk of conflict with Russia that worries the mayor of the Latvian capital Riga; it’s the threat to jobs and investment as EU sanctions on Moscow rebound on the economy of the Baltic state.
Thai police arrest man for procuring boys for suspected American pedophile
BANGKOK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Thai police working with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation have arrested a man for procuring more than 100 boys over the past three years for an alleged American pedophile in northern Thailand, police said …
Philippines to buy two C130 transport planes from U.S. Navy
MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippine military on Friday signed a pact with the U.S. Navy to buy two secondhand C-130 transport planes to boost its capability to fan out quickly for territorial defense and humanitarian operations.
Seven U.N. peacekeepers wounded in northern Mali attack
BAMAKO (Reuters) – Seven U.N. peacekeepers were wounded by a blast that hit their vehicle near the airport in the northern Malian town of Kidal on Friday, the latest in a string of attacks on foreign forces.
Bangladesh clamps down on opposition amid violent clashes
DHAKA (Reuters) – Bangladesh has stepped up a crackdown on the main opposition party, arresting its vice-president amid anti-government protests that have left seven dead and injured hundreds.
