Kerry to see Abbas, Jordan’s Abdullah on Jerusalem strife
MUSCAT (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Jordan on Wednesday for talks with Jordanian King Abdullah and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas about tensions in Jerusalem, the State Department said.
Israel says will not cooperate with U.N. Gaza investigation
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel said on Wednesday it would not cooperate with a United Nations Human Rights Council investigation into this year’s Gaza war because its findings were “pre-determined”.
Iran says centrifuge testing, but no violation of atom deal with powers
DUBAI/VIENNA (Reuters) – Iran has confirmed it tested a new centrifuge that could speed up its enrichment of uranium but rejected a U.S. think-tank’s suggestion the move may have violated last year’s nuclear deal with world powers.
Reptiles, eggs banned as Australia ramps up G20 security
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Eggs, tinned food, reptiles and surfboards will be banned in parts of Brisbane this week as Australia’s biggest peacetime deployment of police and soldiers braces for everything from unruly protests to mass hostage-taking at the Grou…
Turkish nationalists assault U.S. sailors in Istanbul
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – A group of Turkish ultra-nationalists attacked three U.S. sailors on a crowded street in Istanbul on Wednesday, shouting “Yankee go home” and trying to pull hoods over their heads in an assault condemned by the United States.
Diaspora eyes Modi boost to India-Australia ties
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Since migrating to Sydney from Mumbai in 2000, Praful Desai has maintained economic as well as family ties with his homeland by investing in real estate in Gujarat, the business-friendly state that grew in prominence under then chief…
Egyptian navy kills four after boat attack: security sources
CAIRO (Reuters) – Gunmen in a fishing boat opened fire on an Egyptian naval launch which shot back, killing at least four of the attackers on Wednesday, security sources and state media said.
Pentagon downplays Iranian replica drone after first flight
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Iran’s copy of a U.S. drone aircraft captured in 2011 is inferior to the American original, the Pentagon said on Wednesday, as it downplayed claims from Tehran this week that the replica had taken its first flight.
Iraqi forces advance in bid for Baiji refinery
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi government forces made significant advances on Wednesday in an effort to break an Islamic State siege of the country’s biggest refinery just outside the city of Baiji, an army commander and state television said.
In rural Kenya, traditions run deeper than law on cutting girls
BARINGO COUNTY Kenya (Reuters) – Draped in animal skin and covered in white paint, four teenage girls squat over large stones in a remote western Kenyan village after being circumcised – a life-threatening custom banned in the country three years ago.
