WORLD HEADLINES

In Turkish border region, Syria policy dents ruling party support

By Dasha Afanasieva GAZIANTEP, Turkey (Reuters) – Levent Hocazade makes no apology for taking part in violent protests against Syrian refugees in this Turkish border province, where an influx of hundreds of thousands fleeing war has heightened competition for jobs and sent rents rocketing. Gaziantep has long been a bastion of support for Turkey’s AK Party, its small industry and agriculture flourishing over a decade of AKP rule. The Islamist-rooted

Kenya charges five men over Garissa attack

Five men were charged on Thursday in connection with an attack by Somali Islamist gunmen on Garissa University in northeast Kenya that killed 148 students, the worst militant attack in the east African nation in almost two decades. The assault on Garissa University on April 2, in which gunmen from Somalia’s al Shabaab group stormed in and sought to kill Christian students, has piled pressure on President Uhuru Kenyatta to

N. Korea developing new satellite, defends space program

TOKYO (AP) — North Korean space agency officials say the country is developing a more advanced Earth observation satellite and are defending their right to conduct rocket launches whenever they see fit, despite protests by the United States and others that the launches are aimed primarily at honing military-use technologies.

Families march to China ship rescue site as survivor hopes fade

By Engen Tham and John Ruwitch JIANLI, China (Reuters) – Dozens of family members walked in protest on Wednesday to the rescue site of a sunken cruise ship in the Yangtze River, asking for news of their relatives who are missing after the worst shipping disaster in modern Chinese history. Frustrated by the level of information coming from local authorities, about 80 family members took matters into their own hands

South Korea test-fires missile that can strike all of the North

South Korea on Wednesday test-launched a new ballistic missile that can hit all of North Korea, the president’s office said, developed under a new agreement with the United States that lets Seoul extend the weapon’s range to up to 800 km (500 miles). President Park Geun-hye made a rare visit to a missile base on the west coast to watch the launch of the guided missile, which will be a

Ukraine forces, separatists fight first serious battles in months

By Alessandra Prentice and Pavel Polityuk KIEV (Reuters) – Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists on Wednesday fought their first serious battles in months and Ukraine’s defense minister said an attempt by rebels to take the eastern town of Maryinka had been thwarted. Ukraine’s military said the Russian-backed rebels had tried to advance using tanks and up to 1,000 fighters west of the main rebel stronghold of Donetsk, in the most

Islamic State militants use water as weapon in western Iraq

Islamic State militants have closed gates of a dam on the Euphrates River in western Iraq, reducing the water and giving them greater freedom of movement to attack government forces downstream on the southern bank, local officials said. The militants have redirected the flow of water to their advantage on the battlefield around the city of Ramadi. The Euphrates has acted as a barrier between the militants who control its

Syrian troops battle to repel Islamic State attack on city

By Tom Perry and Sylvia Westall BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian troops and militia battled on Wednesday to repel an Islamic State attack on the city of Hasaka in the northeast, and a Kurdish official said the government forces may not be able to hold off the jihadists. Hasaka city is divided into zones run separately by the government of President Bashar al-Assad and a Kurdish administration, whose well-organized militia YPG

Russian investigators point finger at Ukraine over downing of MH17

Russian federal investigators said on Wednesday they had testimony from a former Ukrainian air force mechanic supporting a Moscow theory that a Malaysian passenger plane downed in east Ukraine last summer was attacked by a Ukrainian fighter jet. Moscow has stepped up a campaign denying any responsibility for the downing of the airliner on July 17, 2014, with the loss of all 298 people aboard. Several versions presented by various