Pakistani court condemns mentally ill Briton to death for blasphemy
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan has handed a death sentence for blasphemy to a 68-year-old Briton with a history of mental illness, even though his lawyers were barred from the courtroom partway through the trial, the lawyers said on Friday.
Three suspected militants killed in U.S. drone strike in Yemen
SANAA (Reuters) – Three suspected al Qaeda militants were killed in Maarib province, east of the Yemeni capital Sanaa, in what local officials and tribal sources said was a strike by a U.S. drone late on Thursday.
French army kills 11 suspected militants in northern Mali
BAMAKO (Reuters) – French forces killed at least 11 suspected Islamist fighters and seized large amounts of weapons and ammunition during an operation in Mali’s northern region of Timbuktu, a French army source in Mali said on Friday.
Kyrgyzstan says kills 11 Uighur militants near Chinese border
BISHKEK (Reuters) – Eleven people believed to be members of a militant group of ethnic Uighurs have been killed in Kyrgyzstan after illegally crossing into the former Soviet republic from China, Kyrgyz border guards said on Friday.
China appoints Xi to head national security commission
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping has been appointed head of the new national security commission by the ruling Communist Party’s decision-making Politburo, the latest sign of his rapid consolidation of power.
More than 65,000 fled Iraqi fighting in past week, UNHCR says
GENEVA (Reuters) – More than 65,000 people have fled fighting in the Iraqi cities of Falluja and Ramadi during the past week, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said on Friday.
South Sudan looters steal food to feed 220,000 for a month: U.N.
GENEVA (Reuters) – The United Nations World Food Programme estimates that it may have lost more than 3,700 tonnes of food in looting in South Sudan, enough to feed 220,000 people for a month, WFP spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs said on Friday.
Brahimi to meet separately with Syria sides on Friday: opposition
GENEVA (Reuters) – United Nations mediator on Syria Lakhdar Brahimi will meet separately with delegations of the Syrian government and opposition on Friday in Geneva, opposition sources and the United Nations said.
Medical charity in Myanmar says treated wounded near alleged massacre site
YANGON (Reuters) – Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said on Friday it had treated 22 people in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state who had apparently been wounded last week around the time of a reported massacre of Rohingya Muslims, an incident the…
Syrian opposition demands a future without Assad
GENEVA (Reuters) – Syria’s opposition leader laid out his demands for talks on ending his country’s civil war, calling for the creation of a transitional government that does not include President Bashar al-Assad.
