Al Qaeda Syria unit executes dozens of rival Islamists: activists
AMMAN (Reuters) – The al Qaeda-linked Islamist state of Iraq and the Levant executed dozens of rival Islamists over the last two days as the group recaptured most territory it had lost in the northeastern Syrian province of Raqqa, activists said on Sun…
Obama hails Iran deal, argues against new sanctions
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama hailed an agreement struck on Sunday to curb Iran’s nuclear program over six months and argued that imposing additional U.S. sanctions could scupper the deal.
Israelis pay last respects to warrior-statesman Sharon
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Thousands of Israelis bade farewell on Sunday to former prime minister Ariel Sharon, the maverick warrior-statesman who helped reshape the Middle East, as his body lay in state outside parliament in Jerusalem.
Exclusive: Iran to get first $550 million of blocked $4.2 billion on February 1
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Iran would receive the first $550 million installment of a total of $4.2 billion in previously blocked overseas funds on or about February 1, a senior U.S. official said on Sunday.
Court sentences leader of 2004 Saudi attack to death
DUBAI (Reuters) – A Saudi court on Sunday sentenced the leader of a militant cell involved in a suicide attack on the offices of a foreign company in the Red Sea city of Yanbu nearly 10 years ago in which five Westerners were killed, Saudi media report…
Friends of Syria group urges opposition to attend Geneva talks
PARIS (Reuters) – The “Friends of Syria”, an alliance of mainly Western and Gulf Arab countries who oppose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, urged opposition groups on Sunday to attend this month’s peace talks, saying there was no other route to a poli…
Three more Greek far-right party MPs ordered held awaiting trial
ATHENS (Reuters) – Three more far-right Golden Dawn lawmakers have been ordered detained pending trial in Greece on charges of belonging to a criminal group, as part of a crackdown on the party following the killing of an anti-fascist rapper by one of …
France’s Hollande has tight window to step up reform pace
PARIS (Reuters) – The coming weeks will tell whether Francois Hollande can pick up the pieces of his accident-prone presidency and start to pull the euro zone’s second-largest economy out of decline. It may be his last chance to do so.
Ukraine pro-Europe protesters hold first big rally of 2014
KIEV (Reuters) – At least 50,000 opponents of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich rallied in a central Kiev square on Sunday, reviving an anti-government protest movement after a Christmas and New Year lull.
Group linked to al Qaeda regains ground in northeast Syria
AMMAN (Reuters) – A group linked to al Qaeda recaptured much of its stronghold in the northeast Syrian city of Raqqa on Sunday, activists said, dealing a blow to rival rebel groups backed by Gulf Arab and Western states.
