Islamic State seizes more territory in Syria: monitor
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Islamic State insurgents have seized several towns and villages from rival Islamist groups in the Syrian province of Aleppo, opening the way for further westward advances, an organization monitoring the war in Syria said on Wednesday…
EU’s Ashton ready to call special meeting on Iraq, Ukraine
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is ready to call a special foreign ministers’ meeting as early as this week and is talking to EU governments about it, a spokesman said on Wednesday.
Maliki says Abadi’s appointment as Iraqi PM ‘has no value’
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Nuri al-Maliki said on Wednesday the appointment of Haider al-Abadi to replace him as Iraq’s prime minister violated the constitution and “had no value”.
At least five killed by rocket fire in Libyan capital: official
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – At least five people were killed and families were forced from their homes when rockets hit neighborhoods in western Tripoli during clashes between rival armed factions, officials and witnesses said on Wednesday.
Thai military government moves to outlaw commercial surrogacy
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s military government gave preliminary approval on Wednesday for a draft law to make commercial surrogacy a criminal offense, following a spate of dramatic surrogacy scandals in the past two weeks.
Siege mentality grips Pakistan ahead of Independence Day
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Thousands of riot police sealed off Pakistan’s capital with barbed wire and shipping containers on the eve of the country’s Independence Day, in a bid to foil mass protests aimed at toppling embattled Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
U.S. ready to help new Iraq leader, Iran welcomes choice
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq’s new prime minister-designate won swift endorsements from uneasy mutual allies the United States and Iran on Tuesday as he called on political leaders to end crippling feuds that have let jihadists seize a third of the country…
Owner of Bangladesh ferry arrested on murder charge after accident
DHAKA (Reuters) – A special Bangladesh anti-crime unit on Wednesday arrested the owner of a ferry that sank in a river killing about 110 people, the first time authorities took such action in a country where shipping accidents with heavy loss of life a…
Magnitude 5.8 quake shakes southwest Mexico, no damage reported
(Reuters) – A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck the southwest Mexican state of Oaxaca on Tuesday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, but there were no immediate reports of any damage or injuries.
On Russia’s border with Ukraine, fighters and military gear move freely
VERKHNYAYA OREKHOVKA Russia (Reuters) – In Russia’s southwestern Rostov region bordering Ukraine, a military-style training camp, a broken down border fence and tracks consistent with armoured personnel carriers or tanks add to a body of evidence of Ru…
