Fifty-three blindfolded bodies found in Iraq as political leaders bicker
BAGHDAD Iraq (Reuters) – Iraqi security forces found 53 corpses, blindfolded and handcuffed, south of Baghdad on Wednesday as Shi’ite and Kurdish leaders traded accusations over an Islamist insurgency raging in the country’s Sunni provinces.
Fugitive Snowden asks to extend stay in Russia: lawyer
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden has asked Moscow to extend his asylum in Russia, his lawyer said on Wednesday.
Syrian government forces squeeze insurgents in Aleppo
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian armed forces have taken strategic ground around Aleppo this week, residents and state media said on Wednesday, squeezing the main rebel supply line into the city after months of battlefield gains by Damascus.
Egyptian soldier killed in Sinai explosion
CAIRO (Reuters) – One soldier was killed and four others wounded in an explosion in the Egyptian town of Rafah, near the border with Israel, security sources told Reuters on Wednesday.
Russia gives green light for next U.S. ambassador
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia has given the green light for career diplomat John Tefft to be appointed U.S. ambassador to Moscow, an aide to President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.
U.S. blacklists UAE firm for flouting sanctions on Syria
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on Wednesday slapped sanctions on a United Arab Emirates company for supplying specialty petroleum products to the Syrian government, and blacklisted two additional Syrian companies.
Spain arrests 32 in swoop on suspected members of Italy’s Camorra
MADRID (Reuters) – Spanish police have arrested 32 suspected members of Italy’s Camorra crime group they say were involved in drug trafficking, extortion, fraud and money laundering, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.
Iraqi Christians’ flee violence, fear end of long history
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The violence in Iraq is hastening the end of nearly 2,000 years of Christianity there as the few remaining faithful flee Islamic State militants, archbishops from Baghdad, Mosul and Kirkuk said on Wednesday.
Burundi critic of government denied bail on security charge: lawyer
BUJUMBURA (Reuters) – A rights activist campaigning against constitutional change critics say will upset Burundi’s ethnic balance and entrench President Pierre Nkurunziza in power has failed in his plea for bail, a defense lawyer said on Wednesday.
Turkey’s Kurds prefer peace prospects at home to perilous statehood in Iraq
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – What has long been a dream for the Middle East’s Kurds, an independent state, is within reach in Iraq, but Turkey’s Kurds, wearied by a 30-year conflict with Ankara, see a brighter future at home, where negotiations could deliver t…
