Bahraini activist jailed and fined for tearing up king’s photo
MANAMA (Reuters) – A Bahraini court sentenced pro-democracy activist Zainab al-Khawaja to three years in jail and fined her 3,000 dinars ($7,950) on Thursday for insulting King Hamad by tearing up his photograph, her lawyer and a human rights group sai…
Warily, U.S. learns to live with more muscular Iran role in Iraq
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States and Iran, which dueled viciously over Iraq during the years of U.S. occupation, suddenly seem to be working in tandem as they confront what both see as a common, even mortal enemy: Islamic State.
Armed robbery sparked terrorism charge against Canada teen
MONTREAL (Reuters) – A 15-year-old charged with terrorism-related offences in Canada was initially arrested for armed robbery in October before authorities realized he had planned to travel abroad to join jihadist fighters, police said on Thursday.
Bombs in Shi’ite, Kurdish districts kill 35 in Iraq
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Bombs in the Iraqi capital Baghdad and the northern city of Kirkuk killed 35 people on Thursday, mostly in Shi’ite Muslim and Kurdish neighborhoods, police and medical sources said.
Fighting flares up in South Sudan after rains recede
JUBA (Reuters) – Government troops and South Sudanese rebels have been fighting for more than a week in a remote northern region of the country, a United Nations official said on Thursday, in the worst clashes since the rainy season receded in recent w…
Kenyan military plane crashes in Somalia, rebels say shot down
NAIROBI/MOGADISHU (Reuters) – A Kenyan warplane crashed in southern Somalia on Thursday, with the Kenyan military saying the crash was due to technical problems while Somali rebels said they had shot it down with a missile.
More air strikes near Tripoli in struggle between Libya’s rival groups
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Forces allied to one of two rival governments vying for power in Libya launched an air strike near Tripoli on Thursday, officials and residents said, in a struggle that began when one group seized the capital in August and set up it…
U.S. disclosed failed attempt to rescue American in Yemen
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on Thursday disclosed a failed attempt last month to rescue a U.S. citizen held hostage by al Qaeda’s Yemen branch, saying he was not present at the targeted location but that other hostages were freed.
U.N. food aid halt pushing more Syrian refugee girls to early marriage
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The halt in U.N. food supplies to 1.7 million Syrian refugees makes it more likely that refugee children will be forced to go to work or marry early to help their families survive, the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF…
Expelled U.S. rights official returns to Bahrain
MANAMA (Reuters) – A senior American official returned to Bahrain on Thursday after the kingdom expelled him for meeting with an opposition leader, a rare public row between the United States and its strategic Gulf ally.
