Blog

Afghan hospital 'mistakenly struck'; strike decision made within U.S. chain of command: general

By Patricia Zengerle and Yeganeh Torbati WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The deadly air strike that hit a hospital in the Afghan city of Kunduz was a mistake made within the U.S. chain of command, the American commander of international forces in Afghanistan said on Tuesday. The strike on Saturday on an Afghan hospital run by Doctors Without Borders, or Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), killed 22 people and deeply angered the medical

Russian jets hit Islamic State targets in Palmyra, Aleppo

Syrian state television and a monitoring group said on Tuesday that Russian jets hit Islamic State targets in the Syrian city of Palmyra and the northern province of Aleppo, in some of the heaviest Russian attacks on the hardline Islamist group. Local activists said that Russian war planes killed at least 12 people from two families in the city. Syria’s state television said the strikes destroyed 20 vehicles and three

Taliban fighters launch hit-and-run attacks in Afghanistan's Kunduz

By Mirwais Harooni KABUL (Reuters) – Taliban fighters on motorbikes have carried out hit-and-run attacks on Afghan forces trying to clear Kunduz city of insurgents, more than a week after the militant movement briefly seized the provincial capital. Adopting new tactics, Taliban fighters have been firing at security forces at checkpoints and then melting away into residential areas, rather than directly engaging in gun battles, said Hamdullah Danishi, acting governor

Abbas says does not want escalation with Israel

By Ali Sawafta RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Tuesday he did not want a spike in deadly violence in East Jerusalem and the Israeli-occupied West Bank to spiral into armed confrontation with Israel. Four Israelis have been killed since Thursday in a stabbing and a drive-by shooting blamed on Palestinian militants. Two Palestinians, one of them a 13-year-old, have been killed and about 170

Abbas says does not want violence with Israel to escalate

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said Tuesday he wanted to avoid a violent escalation with Israel, his most direct comments since unrest has spread and provoked fears of a new uprising. “We don’t want a military and security escalation with Israel,” Abbas said at a meeting of Palestinian officials, according to official news agency Wafa. Abbas’s intentions were unclear before his recent comments, particularly following his UN General Assembly speech last

UK's Corbyn criticises cuts outside Conservative conference

British opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn railed against the government’s austerity policies in Manchester on Monday, breaking convention by appearing on the sidelines of the rival Conservative party’s conference. “We challenge the whole notion that austerity is some kind of economic necessity when in reality it’s a political choice made by those who wish to see a growing gap between the richest and the poorest,” Corbyn told a cheering crowd

Six brokers on trial over Libor fixing 'conspiracy'

Six financial brokers were “willing and enthusiastic” players in a conspiracy to fix the Libor benchmark interest rate, prosecutors said as their trial opened on Tuesday. The men, known by nicknames including “Lord Libor” and “Big Nose”, acted to “corrupt a process that should not have been corrupted”, London’s Southwark Crown Court heard. Many of the world’s top banks have been hit by scandals over the rigging of Libor rates,

The Trump swagger is seen, not always loved, worldwide

BALMEDIE, Scotland (AP) — Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump is well-known in this serene coastal section of Scotland, where shimmering golden sand dunes meet the ice-blue North Sea and people play on his golf course. He’s known in the Himalayas, too, far from any sign with his name on it. And in the Middle East, Africa and beyond.