Exclusive: United States defends Syria airstrikes in letter to U.N. chief
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The United States told the United Nations on Tuesday it led airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Syria because President Bashar al-Assad’s government had failed to wipe out safe havens used by the group to launch att…
Iraq PM Abadi retires two top generals after Islamic State conquests
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi retired two senior generals on Tuesday as part of an overhaul of the country’s armed forces, which collapsed this summer in the face of Islamic State insurgents who seized wide areas of northern …
Ghana files arbitration suit over border dispute with Ivory Coast
ACCRA (Reuters) – Ghana has taken legal action under a U.N. convention to resolve a maritime border dispute with Ivory Coast over water close to oil fields licensed by British firm Tullow Oil.
Britain’s Cameron overheard saying Queen ‘purred’ at Scottish ‘No’ vote
MANCHESTER England (Reuters) – Britain’s monarch is famously above politics, but Prime Minister David Cameron was overheard on Tuesday saying Queen Elizabeth had “purred” with happiness when he phoned her to inform her Scotland had voted to reject inde…
Kremlin Internet plans could endanger free speech: watchdog
WARSAW (Reuters) – Russian proposals on protecting Internet users against threats from the West could be a Kremlin ploy to crack down on critical voices inside Russia, a representative of Europe’s main rights and democracy watchdog said.
Make Syrian civilian protection priority, world leaders told
LONDON (Reuters) – The protection of Syrian civilians must be a global priority in any further intervention in the Middle East, a coalition of 40 human rights and aid agencies said on Tuesday.
Hollande, after meeting Rouhani, expresses hope for nuclear deal
PARIS (Reuters) – French President Francois Hollande met his Iranian counterpart on Tuesday and said afterwards that he hoped for a swift agreement on Iran’s nuclear program.
Spain’s PM scraps hardline abortion reform
MADRID (Reuters) – Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Tuesday scrapped proposed changes in the abortion law that would have made Spain one of the most difficult countries in Europe in which to terminate an unwanted pregnancy, prompting the justice ministe…
Israel says its troops kill Hamas men accused of slaying teens
HEBRON West Bank (Reuters) – Israeli troops shot dead two Palestinians in the West Bank city of Hebron on Tuesday and the military said they were members of Hamas responsible for the killing of three Israeli youths in June, an attack that led to the Ga…
Defiant students give Hong Kong leader ultimatum
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s striking students on Tuesday gave the city’s leader 48 hours to honor his promise to listen to the people, threatening to surround and paralyze key government buildings if he failed to respond to their demands for grea…
