Syrian rebels killed 190 civilians in August dawn raid: HRW
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian rebels killed at least 190 civilians and took more than 200 hostage during an offensive in Latakia province in August, Human Rights Watch said on Friday, in what it calls the first evidence of crimes against humanity by opposi…
Mother of jailed U.S. missionary in North Korea to see son
SEATTLE (Reuters) – The mother of jailed U.S. missionary Kenneth Bae has arrived in North Korea to visit her ailing son, who was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in May on charges of state subversion, his family said on Thursday.
Sunni rebels, Shi’ite militia clash near Damascus shrine
AMMAN (Reuters) – Fighting flared on Thursday between Syrian Sunni rebels and foreign militias near a main Shi’ite shrine on the southern edge of Damascus, opposition activists said, in an increasingly internationalized conflict deepening Middle East s…
Iran up for U.N. disarmament panel post, U.S. objects
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Iran is running for the vice chairmanship of the U.N. Disarmament Commission, which the United States said on Thursday was unacceptable in light of Tehran’s many breaches of Security Council demands that it halt its controver…
Morocco’s king names new ministers, Islamists lose ground
RABAT (Reuters) – Morocco’s King Mohamed named 19 new ministers on Thursday after the prime minister reached a deal to form a new coalition that weakens the ruling Islamists who are trying to push through unpopular reforms to subsidies and the pensions…
Iraq says executes 42 ‘terrorists’, including woman
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq executed 42 people, including a woman, for mass killings and other “terrorism” offences over the past week, the justice ministry and the United Nations said on Thursday after a surge in sectarian violence.
Observers call Azerbaijan vote unfair, opposition plans challenge
BAKU (Reuters) – Opponents of Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said on Thursday they would go to court to challenge his election to a third term, rejecting the result of a vote that international monitors said was seriously flawed.
Germany’s Merkel, Greens agree second round of exploratory talks
BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s victorious conservatives and the Greens party agreed on Thursday to hold further talks on forming a first-ever federal government between the long-time adversaries, party officials said.
Malawi president dissolves cabinet in wake of graft scandal
LILONGWE (Reuters) – Malawi President Joyce Banda dissolved the cabinet on Thursday after police arrested several junior officials in her government in recent weeks on suspicion of stealing state funds.
Premier’s brief ‘arrest’ highlights anarchy in Libya
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libyan gunmen on the government payroll seized the prime minister in his nightshirt on Thursday and held him for several hours, in a new manifestation of the anarchy that has followed the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi.
