WASHINGTON/ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) – One member of a U.S. special operations team was killed during an operation to rescue hostages held by Islamic State militants in northern Iraq, the first American killed in ground combat with the militant group, U.S. officials said on Thursday. No further information was available on the mission, which local residents and a Kurdish military commander said was carried out in the Hawija area in northern
By Arshad Mohammed BERLIN (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday voiced cautious hope there may be a way to defuse Israeli-Palestinian violence that has killed nearly 60 people this month. Speaking to reporters after about four hours of talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Kerry said he thought there were steps that could reduce the violence and said they needed to be discussed with Jordanian
By Michael Georgy and Yara Bayoumy CAIRO (Reuters) – As Egypt cracks down on its Islamist dissidents, many of the country’s lawyers are finding themselves on the wrong side of the law as well. Attorney Mohsen al-Bahnasy says so many fellow lawyers have been arrested or charged in recent months that he now spends much of his time defending them in court. One of the lawyers he represents is accused
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s approval rating has hit a record high of almost 90 percent, primarily as a result of his decision to launch air strikes against Islamist militants in Syria, Russia’s state pollster said on Thursday. VTsIOM, the pollster, said Putin’s rating had reached 89.9 percent in October, up from a previous high of 89.1 percent in June. “Such a high level of approval for the work of the
By Niklas Pollard and Johan Ahlander STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – A masked man wielding “knife-like weapons” walked from classroom to classroom to stab students as they opened the door, killing a teacher and a boy and wounding two others at a school in western Sweden before being shot dead by police.
Stocks are moving higher in midday trading after some encouraging results from McDonald’s, eBay and other companies.
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Dozens of same-sex couples in Chile are celebrating civil unions, taking advantage of a new law that’s a sign of change in a country long regarded as one of Latin America’s most socially conservative.
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Patricia is strengthening and is expected to hit the coast of Mexico as a dangerous major hurricane.
This week’s surprise Moscow summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad was perhaps one of the most sensitive meetings the Kremlin walls have seen in recent times. At stake was the future of the Syrian conflict — and also Russia’s place on the world stage as Putin seeks to muscle his way back to global influence after months of Western isolation over Ukraine. Assad’s visit —
MOSCOW (AP) — Joel Bouzou has been re-elected unopposed as president of the World Olympians Association.