Scores of rebels killed in Syrian government ambush
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syria’s army ambushed Islamist fighters in the Qalamoun mountains north of the capital Damascus on Friday, leaving as many as 60 people dead, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Ukraine police allege opposition ties to reporter’s attackers
KIEV (Reuters) – Police in Ukraine on Friday accused five suspects detained over the savage beating of a reporter of links to the opposition, an allegation the opposition condemned as an attempt to deflect suspicions of government complicity.
Japan gets Okinawa approval for U.S. Marine base move
TOKYO (Reuters) – The governor of Japan’s Okinawa on Friday approved a controversial plan to relocate a U.S. air base to a less populous part of the southern island, but said he would keep pressing to move the base off the island altogether.
Antwerp railway station reopens after bomb threat
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Police reopened the main railway station in Belgium’s port city of Antwerp on Friday after the building and surrounding streets were cleared due to a bomb threat, the force said.
World powers and Iran to resume expert nuclear talks on December 30
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Nuclear experts from Iran and six world powers will resume talks on how to roll out last month’s landmark deal on Monday in Geneva, hoping to resolve numerous technical issues before the accord can be put into place.
Antwerp train station evacuated after bomb threat
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Police evacuated the main train station in Belgium’s port city of Antwerp on Friday and cleared surrounding streets after a bomb threat, the force said.
Israel plans 1,400 more West Bank settlement homes, official says
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel plans to build 1,400 homes in its settlements in the occupied West Bank and will announce the projects next week after releasing a group of Palestinian prisoners, an Israeli official said on Friday.
Russian punk band says freed to improve Russia’s image before Olympics
MOSCOW (Reuters) – One of two freed members of punk protest band Pussy Riot, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, said on Friday their release was aimed solely at improving Russia’s image before it hosts the Winter Olympic Games and was not a humanitarian gesture.
South Sudan’s Kiir to skip Nairobi crisis talks with African leaders
NAIROBI (Reuters) – South Sudanese President Salva Kiir has not gone to Kenyan capital Nairobi to attend a meeting of African leaders trying to mediate an end to nearly two weeks of fighting that has killed thousands, a Kenyan official said.
At least eight killed by bomb blast in Somali capital
MOGADISHU (Reuters) – At least eight people were killed in Mogadishu on Friday when a remotely controlled bomb exploded in a busy restaurant in the Somali capital, police official and witnesses said.
