Exclusive: Hamas fighters show defiance in Gaza tunnel tour
GAZA (Reuters) – Hamas fighters, clad in black and armed with assault rifles, navigated the dimly lit tunnel with ease, saying they felt at home in their network of underground passages in the Gaza Strip.
Former Iraqi VP urges role for Saddam loyalists, criticises U.S. action
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Former dictator Saddam Hussein’s Baath party must play a role if a political solution is to be found in Iraq, ex-vice president Tarek al-Hashemi said on Monday, warning that U.S. air strikes would do nothing to end the violence.
Russia tests surface-to-air missiles in military exercises: RIA
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia on Tuesday tested surface-to-air missiles during army exercises in the southern Russian province of Astrakhan, a defense ministry spokesman was quoted as saying, in a move to show its military might as fighting rages in neighb…
Kurd shot dead in clash over statue with Turkish forces
DIYARBAKIR Turkey (Reuters) – A Kurdish protester was shot dead and two others were wounded in southeastern Turkey on Tuesday as they clashed with security forces dismantling a newly erected statue of a prominent Kurdish militant.
‘No’ from one Iraq villager triggered Islamic State mass killings
DOHUK Iraq (Reuters) – When Islamic State militants stormed into a northern Iraqi village and ordered everyone to convert to Islam or die only one person refused. But that did not satisfy the Sunni insurgents who are even more hardline than al Qaeda.
Hundreds of Taliban fighters battle Afghan forces near Kabul: officials
LOGAR Afghanistan (Reuters) – As many as 700 heavily armed Taliban insurgents are battling Afghan security forces in Logar, a key province near the capital Kabul, local officials said on Tuesday, in a test of the Afghan military’s strength as foreign f…
India’s Modi seeks ideas to replace Soviet-style planning
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s prime minister on Monday sought suggestions from the public to help re-fashion the Soviet-inspired central Planning Commission that supporters say is in line with a new, open style of governance.
Saudi Arabia executes five men for drug possession, murder
RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia executed four men for possession of hashish on Monday and another man for murder on Tuesday, local media reported, taking to 18 the number of people it has put to death in two weeks, prompting alarm from rights groups.
West Africa Ebola toll passes 1,200, quarantine victims to get food: WHO
GENEVA (Reuters) – Cases in West Africa’s Ebola outbreak this year have risen to 2,240, including 1,229 deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday, reporting the toll in four countries including Nigeria.
Dozens more Turkish police detained as wiretapping probe widens
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Dozens more police officers were detained in Turkey on Tuesday as part of an investigation into alleged spying and the illegal wiretapping of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and his inner circle, local media reported.
