Drone strike kills five militants in northwest Pakistan
MIRANSHAH Pakistan (Reuters) – A U.S. drone strike killed five militants in Pakistan’s volatile northwest on Wednesday, security officials and residents said, as the country’s security forces press ahead with an offensive in a Taliban stronghold near t…
Sri Lanka groups say government wary of U.N. war crimes probe
COLOMBO (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Authorities in Sri Lanka are clamping down on the activities of civil society groups, who accuse the government of trying to discourage survivors of the country’s civil war from giving evidence to a U.N. war crime…
Ukraine keeps up anti-rebel offensive with nervous eye on Russia
KIEV (Reuters) – Ukrainian government forces, backed by warplanes, kept up a military offensive to claw back lost territory from pro-Russian separatists on Tuesday while casting a nervous eye at Russian military exercises over the border.
Lebanon ceasefire falters; Saudi offers $1 billion to army
BEIRUT (Reuters) – The Lebanese army and Islamist militants clashed on Wednesday despite a 24-hour ceasefire agreed to end five days of fighting that has killed dozens of people in the most serious spillover of Syria’s three-year civil war into Lebanon…
China bans beards, veils from Xinjiang city’s buses in security bid
BEIJING (Reuters) – A city in China’s restive western region of Xinjiang has banned people with head scarves, veils and long beards from boarding buses, as the government battles unrest with a policy that critics said discriminates against Muslims.
Pakistan braces for wave of protests, army secures capital
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan’s civilian government is bracing for a wave of protests this month, days after the military took responsibility for securing the capital amid the threat of militant attacks and the specter of a political showdown.
Spying case heightens China-Canada tensions, reflects split in Ottawa
OTTAWA (Reuters) – China’s decision to investigate two Canadians for suspected spying highlights a sharp and unexpected deterioration in bilateral ties just months ahead of a trip by Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper to Beijing.
Somalia’s president expects new military push to begin in days
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud told Reuters on Tuesday he expected a new military drive by African Union and Somali forces to start in the next few days to push al Shabaab militants from more territory.
Mexico rescues 39 kidnapped Central American immigrants
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Local police and federal soldiers rescued 39 Central American immigrants on Monday at a residence in the northern border state of Tamaulipas, state security authorities said in a statement on Tuesday.
U.S. general dead, German general wounded in Afghan attack
KABUL (Reuters) – A U.S. general was killed and more than a dozen people were wounded on Tuesday, including a German general, in the latest insider attack by a man believed to be an Afghan soldier, U.S., German and Afghan officials said.
