Facing shrinking budgets, Pentagon moves to cut European bases
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Facing tight budgets and a shrinking military, the Pentagon said on Thursday it was ending operations at an air base in Britain and handing it and 14 other sites in Europe back to their home governments in a move projected to sav…
Saudi Arabia to flog activist for blasphemy on Friday: Amnesty
RIYADH (Reuters) – A liberal activist sentenced to prison and flogging in Saudi Arabia will face a first round of lashes on Friday, rights watchdog Amnesty International said on Thursday.
Seven dead in Bangladesh’s election anniversary protests
DHAKA (Reuters) – Three people have been killed in Bangladesh, bringing to seven the number of deaths since protests over a disputed election turned violent earlier this week.
Rights groups urge United States to seek U.N. arms embargo on South Sudan
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Washington should call for a United Nations arms embargo on South Sudan’s warring parties, rights groups said in a letter published on Thursday, as analysts warned that fighting would flare up in the approaching dr…
Russia sanctions can only be lifted if Minsk fully implemented: Merkel
BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday that EU sanctions against Russia tied to its intervention in eastern Ukraine could only be lifted if there was full implementation of the Minsk agreement signed between Kiev and pro-Ru…
Crashed jet’s tail may be raised in hunt for AirAsia ‘black boxes’
JAKARTA/PANGKALAN BUN (Reuters) – Indonesian search and rescue teams plan to start lifting the crashed AirAsia jet’s tail off the sea bed on Friday, officials said, raising hopes that “black box” recorders can be retrieved to reveal the cause of the di…
Car bombs explode at checkpoints in Iraq’s Samarra, three dead
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Car bombs exploded at three checkpoints on the western outskirts of Iraq’s holy city of Samarra on Thursday, killing three people and wounding 41 others, a security official and locals said.
Nepali single mothers say law change would make children stateless
KATHMANDU (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Hundreds of single mothers and rights activists demonstrated outside Nepal’s parliament building on Thursday, urging members of a special assembly drafting a new constitution not to weaken the citizenship rights…
For Obama, Indian parade may be a bit too breathtaking
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – It may not rain on President Barack Obama’s parade when he comes to New Delhi this month for India’s Republic Day celebrations at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Medical aid unable to enter Syrian rebel-held Aleppo: WHO
BEIRUT (Reuters) – The World Health Organization (WHO) has been unable to get a desperately needed medical aid convoy through to civilians in the rebel-held part of Aleppo despite a government promise last month to give it access.
