Al Qaeda group seizes bastion of Western-backed rebels in Syria’s Idlib region
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Islamist militants affiliated to al Qaeda seized the last remaining stronghold of Western-backed rebels in Syria’s northwest province of Idlib on Saturday after days of fighting, rebels and a monitoring group said.
Nigeria’s purported Boko Haram ‘leader’ says has ‘married off’ girls: AFP
LAGOS (Reuters) – A man claiming to Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau said that more than 200 girls kidnapped by the group six months ago from northeast Nigeria had been “married off” to its fighters, contradicting government claims they would soon be …
Gaza rocket hits southern Israel causing no damage or injuries: army
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – A mortar fired from the Gaza Strip hit southern Israel, the Israeli military said on Saturday, the second such incident since a seven-week war in the Palestinian enclave ended in August.
Washington tries to check Hungary’s drift into Kremlin orbit
ZAGREB/BUDAPEST (Reuters) – The United States is mounting a diplomatic offensive to stop Hungary selling a stake in a Croatian energy firm to Russia, part of what Western powers see as Budapest’s dangerous drift into Moscow’s orbit.
China passes counter-espionage law
BEIJING (Reuters) – China passed a counter-espionage law on Saturday aimed at tightening state security and helping build a “comprehensive” national security system, state media reported.
China says not begun legal process for disgraced security chief
BEIJING (Reuters) – China has not started legal proceedings against former domestic security chief Zhou Yongkang, the highest-profile figure to be caught in a government crackdown on corruption, a senior court official said on Saturday.
Malaysia Airlines sees first lawsuit on missing Flight MH370
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Two children of a passenger on Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 have sued the company and the Malaysian government for damages, the first lawsuit to be filed over the aircraft which disappeared in March.
Europe won’t recognize vote in eastern Ukraine, Merkel tells Putin
BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone that Sunday’s planned elections in eastern Ukraine were illegitimate and would not be recognized by European leaders, a Berlin government spokesman sa…
Kurdish peshmerga forces enter Syria’s Kobani after further air strikes
SURUC Turkey/BAGHDAD (Reuters) – A convoy of Iraqi Kurdish forces in Turkey rolled late on Friday across the border into Syria to help Syrian Kurds defend the besieged town of Kobani that has become the focus of a Western-backed war against Islamic Sta…
Protests force out Burkina president, soldiers vie for power
OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) – Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore resigned on Friday amid mass street protests at his attempts to extend his 27-year rule, plunging the West African nation into uncertainty as junior officers vied with top military brass fo…
