Iraqi leader blames regional unrest for revival of al Qaeda in Iraq
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said on Thursday he was seeking U.S. help to counter a resurgent al Qaeda in his country and blamed the revival of the extremist group on power vacuums in the region rather than divisive Iraqi…
Syria military base blasts said to be Israeli strike
AMMAN/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Syrian rebels and a U.S. official cited by CNN said on Thursday Israel had mounted a new attack on a Syrian military base but the Israeli government declined to confirm any strike.
Mexican Congress passes diluted government tax reform
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s Congress on Thursday approved a government-backed bill to increase weak tax revenues but watered down the measure that is expected to have only a moderate effect on the tax take.
Israeli tank fire kills Gaza militant in clashes: Gaza sources
GAZA (Reuters) – A Hamas militant was killed and another critically wounded by Israeli tank fire in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday, medical sources said.
Colombia defense minister says troop cuts after peace ‘big mistake’
BOGOTA (Reuters) – It would be a “big mistake” for Colombia to reduce troop numbers or cut its security budget if a peace agreement is signed with Marxist FARC rebels to end a half century of war, the defense minister said on Thursday.
Syria meets deadline to destroy chemical production facilities
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syria has destroyed or rendered inoperable all of its declared chemical weapons production and mixing facilities, meeting a major deadline in an ambitious disarmament program, the international chemical weapons watchdog said Thursday…
German MP meets Snowden, says he is willing to come to Germany for inquiry
BERLIN (Reuters) – A German lawmaker said he met Edward Snowden in Moscow on Thursday and the fugitive former U.S. spy agency contractor was willing to come to Germany to assist investigations into alleged U.S. surveillance of Chancellor Angela Merkel….
Russian lawyer says Snowden to start website job
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden has found a job working for a website in Russia, where he was granted asylum after fleeing the United States, a Russian lawyer helping him said on Thursday.
Niger says 92 migrants found dead in Sahara after failed crossing
NIAMEY (Reuters) – Rescuers have found the bodies of 92 migrants, most of them women and children, strewn across the Sahara desert in northern Niger after their vehicles broke down and they died of thirst, authorities said on Thursday.
Jailed indigenous teacher freed under new Mexican pardon law
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – An indigenous Mexican teacher jailed over a decade ago for the slayings of seven people was released on Thursday under a pardon by President Enrique Pena Nieto after the government found evidence the teacher’s rights had been ab…
