Burundi takes 17 people involved in failed coup to high court
Burundi took 17 people suspected of involvement in a failed coup against President Pierre Nkurunzinza to the high court on Saturday, relatives of some of the accused said.
WORLD HEADLINES
US commandos kill IS commander in rare Syria raid
US Army special forces killed an Islamic State commander in a daring night raid, the White House said Saturday, in the first publicly confirmed American ground operation targeting jihadists in Syria. US commandos have entered Syria before, for example last year on a failed bid to rescue Western hostages, but this week’s operation appeared to mark a departure in missions targeting the militants. On orders from President Barack Obama, elite
Burundi: 5 generals arrested for plotting failed coup
BUJUMBURA, Burundi (AP) — A top Burundi official says that five generals have been arrested for plotting a failed coup attempt against President Pierre Nkurunziza.
Jihadists advance on ancient Palmyra as US kills top IS leader
US special forces killed a senior Islamic State group leader in a raid in eastern Syria, the White House said Saturday, as jihadists closed in on Syria’s ancient Palmyra and Ramadi in Iraq. President Barack Obama ordered the raid on Al-Omar in east Syria on Friday night to capture senior IS leader Abu Sayyaf and his wife Umm Sayyaf, US officials said.
Burundi accused of crackdown after failed coup
Burundi’s government was Saturday accused of launching a campaign of repression against independent media, the day after loyalist troops defeated an attempted coup against the central African nation’s president. Rights activist Innocent Muhozi said journalists were being subjected to threats of arrest and even death, and that the head of the prominent independent radio station RPA had been forced to flee the country. On Friday President Pierre Nkurunziza thanked loyalist
Taliban claim attack on Afghan guesthouse that killed 14
By Hamid Shalizi and Kay Johnson KABUL (Reuters) – The Afghan Taliban claimed responsibility on Thursday for an attack on a popular guesthouse in Kabul that killed at least 14 people, including foreigners attending a dinner and arriving for a concert. Four Indian nationals, a Briton, an American and a Kazakh national were confirmed among the dead in a five-hour assault at Park Palace guesthouse in an upscale neighborhood of
Choppers and drone hunt for missing U.S. Huey, Nepal quake toll rises
By Ross Adkin and Krista Mahr CHARIKOT, Nepal (Reuters) – Military helicopters flew over eastern Nepal and a team sent up a drone on Thursday to search for a missing U.S. Marines Huey chopper, as the death toll rose from the Himalayan country’s second big earthquake in less than three weeks. A Reuters correspondent flew on a Nepali military helicopter along the Tamakoshi river that runs by the town of
Britain scrambles Typhoon jets to escort Russian bombers
British Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoon fighter jets were scrambled to intercept two Russian long-range bombers near UK airspace north of Scotland, Britain’s Ministry of Defence said on Thursday. Intercepts of Russian aircraft by NATO have increased over the last year amid heightened tensions between the West and Moscow over the Ukraine crisis. “The aircraft were identified as Russian Bear aircraft which were escorted by the RAF Typhoon fighters until
Yemen aid starts to flow as truce mostly holds
By Angus McDowall RIYADH (Reuters) – Relief agencies on Thursday used a five-day humanitarian truce in Yemen to expand aid distribution to some of the millions deprived of food, fuel and medicine by weeks of fighting and air strikes. Saudi Arabia, leading a coalition of Arab states backed by the West, has pounded Houthi rebels and forces loyal to Yemen’s former leader since March 26, aiming to restore President Abd-Rabbu
Islamic State battles Syrian army near world heritage site
By Laila Bassam and Suleiman Al-Khalidi BEIRUT/AMMAN (Reuters) – Islamic State militants were reported on Thursday to be advancing in a government held area near one of Syria’s world heritage sites, part of a major offensive in central regions by the jihadist group that has destroyed antiquities in Iraq. Islamic State fighters reached online said the group was shelling an air base near Tadmur, an oasis in the desert north-east