Syrian government air strikes on areas east of Damascus have killed 247 people in the last 10 days, including 50 children, and wounded 1,000 more people, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Tuesday. The attacks on the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta region included Aug. 16 air strikes that killed 117 people in a marketplace in Douma, some 15 km (10 miles) northeast of the capital. The area is besieged
BEIRUT/DAMASCUS (Reuters) – Islamic State militants published photos on Tuesday purporting to show the destruction of a Roman-era temple in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, an act the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO has called a war crime. Syria’s antiquities chief Maamoun Abdulkarim told Reuters the images did appear to show the destruction of the ancient Baal Shamin temple and correlated with descriptions given by residents of the explosion detonated
By Ju-min Park and Tony Munroe SEOUL (Reuters) – North and South Korea agreed early on Tuesday to end a military standoff that sparked an exchange of artillery fire and had ratcheted up tension on one of the world’s most heavily-fortified borders. Under an accord reached in the early hours, following more than two days of talks, North Korea expressed regret over the recent wounding of South Korean soldiers in
Iran is not considering a prisoner exchange with the United States, a senior official said on Tuesday, ahead of an expected verdict for an Iranian-American journalist held in Tehran for more than a year. “The reports on the possible exchange of prisoners are not true and it is not on the table,” Deputy Foreign Minister Hassan Qashqavi was quoted as saying by Iran’s ISNA news agency. There has been speculation
The Swedish author of the highly-anticipated sequel to the Millennium crime trilogy said Tuesday he supported a Danish newspaper boycott of him over his publisher’s refusal to let literary critics read the book in advance. The boycott concerns David Lagercrantz’s book “The Girl in the Spider’s Web” — the fourth instalment of Stieg Larsson’s best-selling Millennium trilogy which is due for release in 25 countries on Thursday and in the
Zimbabwe’s veteran President Robert Mugabe was booed and heckled by opposition lawmakers over the deteriorating economy as he gave his state of the nation address to parliament Tuesday. Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) lawmakers questioned his economic policies, jeering as the 91-year-old delivered a policy speech which lasted less than half an hour. When Mugabe — who has been in power since Zimbabwe’s independence from Britain in 1980 — outlined
VEJER DE LA FRONTERA, Spain (AP) — Former champion Alejandro Valverde won the fourth stage of the Spanish Vuelta on Tuesday, while Colombian Esteban Chaves protected the leader’s jersey for a third day.
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — A Guatemalan court says former dictator Efrain Rios Montt can stand trial on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity — but can’t be sentenced because the 89-year-old suffers from dementia.
PARIS (AP) — French authorities formally opened a terrorism investigation on Tuesday after a thwarted attack on a high-speed train last week, saying the suspected gunman had watched a jihadi video onboard minutes before the violence.
