Turkey announces strategy to bolster EU accession bid
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey said on Thursday crises in the Middle East and elsewhere made closer co-operation between Ankara and the European Union essential and announced a new program to revive the country’s stalled drive for EU membership.
China separatism trial of Muslim scholar ends, verdict next week: lawyer
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s trial of a Uighur scholar on separatism charges completed its two days of evidence on Thursday, and his lawyer said a verdict in a case that has drawn international criticism might come next week.
Iran ‘Happy’ singers get suspended jail, lashes -website
DUBAI (Reuters) – Six Iranians arrested for appearing in a video singing along to the American pop song “Happy” were given suspended sentences of 91 lashes and six months in prison for obscene behavior, a news website on Thursday quoted their lawyer as…
Thai PM apologizes for bikini comment after murder of British tourists
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thai Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-ocha apologized on Thursday for criticizing tourists who wear bikinis in Thailand, comments that sparked an international outcry following the murder of two Britons there this week.
PKK militants call on Turkish Kurds to fight Islamic State in Syria
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish PKK rebels, who have spent three decades fighting for autonomy for Turkey’s Kurds, called on Thursday for the youth of the country’s mostly Kurdish southeast to join the fight against Islamic State militants in northern Syr…
Australian PM says police raids follow IS linked beheading plot
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Militants connected with radical group Islamic State were planning to behead a member of the public in Australia, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Thursday, after hundreds of police raided homes in a sweeping counter-terrorism oper…
Libya’s elected parliament rejects PM’s new cabinet as oil sector takes hit
BENGHAZI Libya (Reuters) – Libya’s elected parliament has rejected the new cabinet of Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni, dealing a fresh blow to the acting premier whose government was forced to flee the capital Tripoli last month after it was taken ov…
Gaza war spurs more Palestinians to risk dangerous migration to Europe
GAZA (Reuters) – A devastating war with Israel has swollen the number of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip joining a perilous exodus of migrants fleeing the Middle East and Africa in search of a better life in Europe.
China not warlike, says Xi, as border standoff dominates India trip
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – China is not a warlike nation, President Xi Jinping said on Thursday, during a rare trip to neighbor India that was dominated by a standoff on a barren Himalayan plateau between soldiers from the world’s two most populous nations….
Congolese government clashes with bishops over third-term debate
KINSHASA (Reuters) – Democratic Republic of Congo’s government accused Catholic bishops of pandering to foreign influence on Thursday after they issued an open letter opposing a possible constitutional revision to let President Joseph Kabila seek a thi…
