Iraq helicopter crashes in airborne commando assault on Tikrit
BAGHDAD/ARBIL (Reuters) – Iraqi forces launched an airborne assault on rebel-held Tikrit on Thursday with commandos flown into a stadium in helicopters, at least one of which crashed after taking fire from insurgents who have seized northern cities.
Ukraine warns on ceasefire as rebels agree to fresh peace talks
KIEV (Reuters) – Ukrainian separatists agreed on Thursday to resume peace talks to end the conflict in the east, but President Petro Poroshenko warned he might not extend a ceasefire beyond Friday night if their gesture was aimed only at buying time.
Living in ‘total fear’ of Boko Haram in Cameroon’s north
AMCHIDE Cameroon (Reuters) – An iron bar balanced between two metal poles is the only barrier between Cameroon and Nigeria in this dusty corner of the Sahel.
Day of reckoning arrives for Britain over EU’s Juncker
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – David Cameron will make a last-ditch stand against the nomination of Jean-Claude Juncker for European Commission president on Friday, enforcing a point of principle that raises the risk of Britain leaving the European Union.
African leaders’ summit urges action on rising militant threat
MALABO (Reuters) – African leaders called on Thursday for firm action against a rising Islamist militant threat stretching across the continent from Kenya to Mali and pledged to furnish the tools for Africa to police its own conflicts.
U.N. aid chief urges Security Council to act on Syria aid crisis
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The U.N. aid chief appealed to the Security Council on Thursday to take action on the “inhuman” obstruction of humanitarian relief in Syria, as Russia and Western nations appeared at an impasse in talks on a draft resolution …
China cyber crime cooperation stalls after U.S. hacking charges
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Fledging cooperation between the United States and China on fighting cyber crime has ground to a halt since the recent U.S. indictment of Chinese military officials on hacking charges, a senior U.S. security official said on Thur…
Sudan releases Christian convert but insists she stay in the country
KHARTOUM (Reuters) – A Sudanese woman who was spared the death penalty for converting to Christianity but was then detained as she tried to leave the country was released from custody on Thursday, on condition she remains in Sudan, her lawyer said.
Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party announces presidential candidate
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – The co-chairman of Turkey’s main pro-Kurdish People’s Democracy Party (HDP) will run in the country’s first direct presidential election in August, Turkish media said on Thursday.
World powers plan strategy to rescue Iran nuclear deal
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Senior diplomats from six world powers met in Brussels on Thursday to search for ways to resuscitate negotiations with Iran over its contested nuclear program, with less than four weeks left until a late-July deadline to strike an …
