By Sami Aboudi DUBAI (Reuters) – A suicide bomber blew himself up at a Shi’ite mosque in eastern Saudi Arabia during Friday prayers, residents said, killing around 20 people and wounding more than 50, local residents and a hospital officials said. The attack could further harm relations between Sunnis and Shi’ites in the Gulf region, where tensions have risen during weeks of military operations in Yemen by a Saudi-led coalition
By Samia Nakhoul BEIRUT (Reuters) – Almost a year after Islamic State’s shock capture of Mosul, Iraq’s second city, the black flags of the jihadis have been raised over Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province to the west of Baghdad, seat of Iraq’s increasingly theoretical central government. Nobody talks of Mosul or recapturing it from Islamic State. Now it is all about the fall of Ramadi, the neighbouring ancient Syrian
By Samia Nakhoul BEIRUT (Reuters) – Almost a year after Islamic State’s shock capture of Mosul, Iraq’s second city, the black flags of the jihadis have been raised over Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province to the west of Baghdad, seat of Iraq’s increasingly theoretical central government. Nobody talks of Mosul or recapturing it from Islamic State. Now it is all about the fall of Ramadi, the neighbouring ancient Syrian
By Sui-Lee Wee BEIJING (Reuters) – China said on Friday it was “strongly dissatisfied” after a U.S. military plane flew over part of the South China Sea near where China is building artificial islands, and called on the United States to stop such action or risk causing an accident. The Chinese navy issued eight warnings to the U.S. P8-A Poseidon, the U.S. military’s most advanced surveillance aircraft, when it conducted
By Sui-Lee Wee BEIJING (Reuters) – China said on Friday it was “strongly dissatisfied” after a U.S. military plane flew over part of the South China Sea near where China is building artificial islands, and called on the United States to stop such action or risk causing an accident. The Chinese navy issued eight warnings to the U.S. P8-A Poseidon, the U.S. military’s most advanced surveillance aircraft, when it conducted
Islamic state fighters pressed an advance east of Ramadi on Friday after breaching Iraqi defenses outside the city the insurgents overran last weekend in a major defeat for the Baghdad government. The fall of Ramadi is the most significant setback for Iraqi forces in almost a year and has cast doubt on the effectiveness of U.S. strategy in helping Iraq to fight Islamic State. While pro-government forces are seeking to
Islamic state fighters pressed an advance east of Ramadi on Friday after breaching Iraqi defenses outside the city the insurgents overran last weekend in a major defeat for the Baghdad government. The fall of Ramadi is the most significant setback for Iraqi forces in almost a year and has cast doubt on the effectiveness of U.S. strategy in helping Iraq to fight Islamic State. While pro-government forces are seeking to
By Padraic Halpin and Conor Humphries DUBLIN (Reuters) – The Irish voted on Friday on whether to allow gay marriage, just two decades after decriminalizing homosexuality, with a strong early turnout likely to favor the ‘Yes’ side. With the once mighty Catholic Church’s influence ravaged by child abuse scandals, opinion polls indicated the proposal would pass by as much as two-to-one, making Ireland the first country to adopt same-sex marriage
By Padraic Halpin and Conor Humphries DUBLIN (Reuters) – The Irish voted on Friday on whether to allow gay marriage, just two decades after decriminalizing homosexuality, with a strong early turnout likely to favor the ‘Yes’ side. With the once mighty Catholic Church’s influence ravaged by child abuse scandals, opinion polls indicated the proposal would pass by as much as two-to-one, making Ireland the first country to adopt same-sex marriage
By Feroz Sultani and Kay Johnson KUNDUZ, Afghanistan/KABUL (Reuters) – The Afghan government has enlisted hundreds of militia fighters controlled by local commanders to battle Taliban militants near the northern city of Kunduz, officials said, underlining how the armed forces are struggling to tackle the insurgency alone. The recruitment of unofficial armed groups in Kunduz is on a larger scale than previous attempts by the government and NATO forces to