Somalia, peacekeepers launch offensive against militants: U.N.
NAIROBI (Reuters) – African Union peacekeepers and the Somali army have begun a major offensive against al Shabaab militants, the U.N.’s Special Representative to Somalia said on Wednesday, urging donors to fund logistical support.
UAE summons Iraq ambassador over Saudi ‘terrorism’ charge
DUBAI (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates summoned Iraq’s ambassador on Wednesday to protest against his prime minister’s accusation that its ally Saudi Arabia was funding “terrorism”, state new agency WAM reported.
U.N. appeals to Russia, U.S. to salvage Syria peace talks
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealed to Russia and the United States on Wednesday to help revive stalled peace talks aimed at ending Syria’s three-year-old civil war, saying it was time to put an end to the bloodshed t…
Rocket barrage from Gaza hits Israel, no one hurt: police
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired more than 30 rockets into Israel on Wednesday, the Israeli military said, in the heaviest such barrage in two years.
Manila air-drops supplies to troops on disputed reef
MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines air-dropped food and water to soldiers posted on a grounded transport ship on a disputed South China Sea shoal, after China blocked two supply ships from reaching the troops, a senior navy official said on Wednesday.
Collapse of coup trial unnerves Turks as Erdogan switches tack
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan welcomed the jailing of army officers, academics and journalists on coup plot charges last year as a key moment in his drive to tame Turkey’s army. Now as the case unravels, his camp suggests some shou…
Russia can’t thwart Afghan war drawdown, U.S. commander says
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Russia, locked in a standoff with the West over Ukraine, would be unable to thwart a complete or partial U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan even if it cut off access to Russian supply routes, a top U.S. general said on Wednesday.
Tanker coming from Libyan rebel port entered Egyptian waters: minister
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libya’s navy has lost contact with an oil tanker that loaded oil in a rebel-held port and has now slipped into Egyptian waters after being attacked by Libya’s air force, a government minister said on Wednesday.
South Africa rebukes Rwanda over attacks on exiled opponents
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – South Africa delivered a diplomatic slap to Rwanda on Wednesday, warning it would not tolerate “criminal” attacks on its soil against Rwandan exiles that have drawn international criticism of President Paul Kagame’s government.
Smuggled Egyptian antiquities to be returned from U.S: minister
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s antiquities minister said on Wednesday that U.S. authorities had agreed to return eight Pharaonic items smuggled into the United States in 2011.
