A convoy of Shi’ite Muslim militia and Iraqi army forces set out from a base near Ramadi on Saturday to advance on areas held by Islamic State, a Shi’ite spokesman said, launching a counter-offensive to reverse stunning gains by the jihadi insurgents.
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Islamic State fighters broke into the museum of the ancient town of Palmyra, though its artifacts have been removed and are safe, a Syrian official said Saturday.
By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate blocked a measure to extend spy agencies’ bulk collection of Americans’ telephone records early on Saturday, leaving the fate of the program uncertain days before its June 1 expiration. By a vote of 54-45, the Senate failed to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to advance a bill that would have extended for two months provisions of the “USA Patriot Act” that
By Jon Herskovitz AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – Texas laws that offer a high degree of protection to those who act in self-defense may make it difficult to prosecute the 170 people jailed for a Sunday motorcycle gang fight that left nine dead, with hundreds of weapons seized by police. Texas allows a person to use deadly force with legal arms in self-defense if they believe such force is immediately necessary
By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Owners of an oil pipeline that burst in California this week must take numerous corrective measures, including an in-depth analysis of factors contributing to the spill and a plan to fix any flaws found, before they can restart the line, U.S. safety officials said on Friday. The corrective action order issued on Thursday by the U.S. Transportation Department’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration,
ECUANDUREO, Mexico (AP) — The latest in a series of clashes between Mexican authorities and a powerful, fast-growing drug cartel turned into the deadliest confrontation in recent memory, with 42 suspected gang gunmen and one Federal Police officer killed during a three-hour firefight at a remote western ranch.
The issue attracts sweeping support, advocates and opponents say.
By Chris Arsenault VATICAN CITY (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Britain’s anti-slavery commissioner received the backing of the Catholic Church on Saturday for a campaign to push for a global pact vowing to eradicate slavery in the next 15 years. Kevin Hyland, who took up the new role last year, is lobbying world leaders to support a commitment to end forced labor and slavery of all forms in a set of
A 65-year-old German grandmother gave birth to quadruplets at a Berlin hospital this week, with the three boys and a girl born prematurely at 26 weeks being in good health and having a good chance of survival, German TV network RTL reported on Saturday. The network, which had covered the pregnancy, said Annegret Raunigk already had 13 children and seven grandchildren. Raunigk, an English and Russian teacher in Berlin, had
BERLIN (AP) — Diplomats have approved the creation of a $100 million fund to help the World Health Organization respond rapidly to emergencies.
