U.S. hostage rescuers dropped from night sky, Syria activist says
BEIRUT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – It was just after midnight on July 4 when at least two dozen U.S. Delta Force commandos arrived on heavily armed Black Hawk helicopters in Akrishi, a small town near the eastern Syrian city of Raqqa on the bank of the Euph…
U.N. says Syria death toll tops 190,000, rights envoy raps world powers
GENEVA (Reuters) – More than 191,000 people were killed in the first three years of Syria’s civil war, a U.N. report said on Friday, and the world body’s human rights envoy rebuked leading powers for failing to halt what she branded a “wholly avoidable…
Shi’ite militia kill dozens of Iraqi Sunnis in mosque shooting
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi Shi’ite militiamen machine gunned minority Sunni Muslims in a village mosque on Friday, killing dozens just as Baghdad was trying to build a cross-community government to fight Sunni militants whose rise has alarmed Western po…
U.S. says Russia must pull convoy from Ukraine or face more sanctions
KIEV/DONETSK-IZVARINO BORDER CROSSING Russia (Reuters) – The United States demanded Moscow remove an aid convoy it sent into rebel-held eastern Ukraine without permission on Friday, accusing Russia of a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of its form…
Mexico launches special police force to guard economic activity
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico on Friday launched a scaled-back version of a new police force President Enrique Pena Nieto had vowed to create while on the campaign trail to safeguard businesses against rampant organized crime.
Tens of thousands of Yemeni Houthis protest against govt in capital
SANAA (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of Yemenis massed in the capital Sanaa on Friday in a protest called by the Shi’ite Houthi movement, which wants the government to reverse a decision on cutting fuel subsidies and resign.
U.S. protests intercept of Navy jet by Chinese warplane
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States charged on Friday that a Chinese fighter pilot conducted a “dangerous intercept” of a Navy patrol plane in international air space this week, flying a few yards (meters) from the U.S. jet and performing acrobati…
Gaza gunmen execute ‘collaborators’; mortar kills Israeli boy
GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Hamas-led gunmen in Gaza executed 18 Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israel on Friday, accelerating a crackdown on suspected informers after Israeli forces tracked down and killed three senior Hamas commanders.
Witnesses in Bali suitcase murder say mother and daughter argued in lobby
DENPASAR Indonesia (Reuters) – An American woman whose body was found in a suitcase on the resort island of Bali and her daughter were seen arguing in the lobby of their hotel, police said on Friday, as a U.S. attorney headed to Indonesia to advise the…
Colombia army, rebels meet face-to-face at peace talks
HAVANA (Reuters) – Colombian military officers and leftist guerrillas met face-to-face on Friday for the first time in their 50-year war, starting talks on a ceasefire that would take hold should the government and the rebels reach a comprehensive peac…
