Iraq says rebuilding of army still in early stages
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi Defence Minister Khaled al-Obeidi said on Tuesday that the Iraqi military has started rebuilding after its near total collapse last summer but that the effort is still in its initial phase.
Taliban ‘joke’ joins online mockery over delayed Afghan cabinet
KABUL (Reuters) – The failure of Afghanistan’s new leaders to name a new cabinet after more than three months has sparked a wave of online jokes, with even the Taliban insurgents joining in.
India proposes special police units to probe crimes against women
NEW DELHI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – India’s home ministry has proposed setting up 150 special police teams across the country to probe crimes against women and ensure victims get justice, the government said.
China arrests scholar who helped blind dissident flee house arrest
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese authorities have arrested a scholar who helped blind dissident Chen Guangcheng escape house arrest in 2012, the scholar’s wife said on Tuesday, in a case that activists say signals a tighter grip on civil liberties.
Shanghai stampede families await answers, fear being silenced
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Three days after his sister and 35 others were killed in a New Year’s Eve stampede, Wang Jianhua went to Shanghai’s waterfront to take pictures and measurements of the scene, hoping to piece together for himself how the disaster un…
At least 12 Ukrainian servicemen killed in road accident
KIEV (Reuters) – At least 12 Ukrainian serviceman were killed and more than 20 injured when some military trucks collided with their bus in eastern Ukraine, police said on Tuesday.
Turkish Airlines suspends all Libya flights amid security concerns
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish Airlines, the last foreign airline operating in Libya, said on Tuesday it was suspending all flights to the north African country over concerns about worsening security.
U.S. stands by plan to pull troops from Afghanistan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on Monday stood by plans to halve the number of its troops in Afghanistan this year and reduce them further in 2016 following Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s suggestion that President Barack Obama review his dea…
Genocide retrial of Guatemala ex-dictator Rios Montt suspended
GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) – Guatemala’s Supreme Court on Monday began a retrial of former dictator Efrain Rios Montt for genocide, but in a fresh twist to a bizarre legal saga suspended it as the defense sought the removal of one of the judges hearing t…
Syria tells U.N. that McCain and former diplomats visited illegally
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Syria has complained to the United Nations that U.S. Senator John McCain, former French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and former U.S. diplomat Peter Galbraith entered the country without visas in separate visits in violat…
