Iraq chases Baghdad sleeper cells as ‘Zero Hour’ looms over capital
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi insurgents are preparing for an assault on Baghdad, with sleeper cells planted inside the capital to rise up at “Zero Hour” and aid fighters pushing in from the outskirts, according to senior Iraqi and U.S. security officials….
South African police fire rubber bullets to disperse striking workers
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African police fired rubber bullets to disperse workers who blocked the entrance to the construction site of state power utility Eskom’s Medupi power station on the third day of a wage strike.
African nations give Rwandan rebels six months to disarm
LUANDA/KINSHASA (Reuters) – African nations have agreed to suspend military operations for six months against Congo-based Rwandan rebels in order to give them more time to lay down their arms, regional government officials said.
Militants free 32 Turkish truck drivers seized in Iraq
ANKARA (Reuters) – Thirty-two truck drivers abducted by Islamist militants in Iraq three weeks ago were handed over to Turkish officials on Thursday and Ankara is working to secure the release of other Turks held there, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu…
Fresh gains and new enemies for Islamic State in Syria
(Reuters) – Islamic State militants have taken control of most of eastern Syria as they build on the momentum of their advance through Sunni Muslim provinces of neighboring Iraq.
Two dead in Cairo blasts on anniversary of Mursi ouster
CAIRO (Reuters) – Two men were killed in a bomb blast in Cairo on Thursday, security sources said, one of several explosions on the anniversary of the army’s removal of Egypt’s elected Islamist president Mohamed Mursi.
Syria refugees set to exceed a third of Lebanon’s population
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanon faces the threat of political and economic collapse as the number of refugees pouring in from Syria is set to exceed a third of the population, Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas said on Thursday.
China and South Korea leaders restate opposition to North’s nuclear arms
SEOUL (Reuters) – The leaders of South Korea and China on Thursday restated their firm opposition to the nuclear ambitions of North Korea, Beijing’s erstwhile ally, and to work towards concluding talks on a free trade deal by the end of the year.
Two killed in sectarian violence in Myanmar’s second city
MANDALAY Myanmar (Reuters) – Two men were killed in a second night of rioting in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city, a security official said on Thursday, the latest flare-up in two years of sectarian unrest that threatens fledgling reforms.
Police purge undermines Turkish security operations, sacked officers say
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Yakup Saygili ranked among Turkey’s top police commanders until he launched anti-graft raids that touched on Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s circle. Now he sits at home, victim of a purge he says has undermined specialist units’ ab…
