By Tim Hepher PARIS (Reuters) – Air crash investigators risk being sidelined in a tussle to unlock the secrets of lost flight MH370, fuelling concerns that their role in making flying safer could be diminished. By drifting on to Reunion Island, the barnacled remains of a Boeing wing part from the Malaysia Airlines jet have given the upper hand to a French judicial investigation, exposing for the second time this
China has reclaimed more land in the disputed Spratly islands of the South China Sea than previously known, according to a new Pentagon report, which says Beijing is also completing construction of a runway on one of its seven man-made outposts. Once the airstrip on Fiery Cross Reef is operational, China could potentially use it as an alternative runway for carrier-based planes, allowing the Chinese military to conduct “sustained operations”
By George Georgiopoulos and Renee Maltezou ATHENS (Reuters) – Rebels opposed to Greece’s international bailout walked out of the leftist Syriza party on Friday, formalising a split after its leader Alexis Tsipras resigned as prime minister and paved the way for early elections. Greece’s president gave the conservative opposition a chance to form a new government following Tsipras’s resignation on Thursday, but the country appears almost certain to be heading
By Humeyra Pamuk ISTANBUL (Reuters) – A second group of rebel fighters trained in Turkey by the U.S.-led coalition could be deployed to Syria within weeks as part of a campaign to push Islamic State insurgents away from the border, diplomatic sources told Reuters on Friday. The United States and Turkey plan to provide air cover for what Washington judges to be moderate Syrian rebels, in a joint operation to
Iranian-allied fighters controlling much of Yemen said on Friday air strikes led by Saudi Arabia killed 43 people in the central city of Taiz. Taiz has become the latest focus of fighting for supporters of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who was driven into exile in Saudi Arabia by the Houthi fighters. The Saba news agency run by the Houthis said the Saudi-led air raids late on Thursday targeted Taiz’s republican palace
By Renee Maltezou ATHENS (Reuters) – Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will resign on Thursday to pave the way for early elections on Sept. 20, government officials said, hoping to quell a rebellion in his leftist Syriza party and seal support for a bailout program. Tsipras’s decision to return to the ballot box after seven bruising months in power deepens political uncertainty on the very day Greece began receiving funds
By Ju-min Park and Tony Munroe SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea fired tens of artillery rounds toward North Korea on Thursday after the North launched shells to protest South Korea’s anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts along the border, as tension escalated on the peninsula. North Korea did not return fire but later warned Seoul in a letter that it would take military action if the South did not stop the loudspeaker broadcasts
By Shadia Nasralla VIENNA (Reuters) – The U.N. nuclear watchdog chief on Thursday rejected as “a misrepresentation” suggestions Iran would inspect its own Parchin military site on the agency’s behalf, an issue that could help make or break Tehran’s nuclear deal with big powers. Without International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmation that Iran is keeping promises enshrined in the landmark July 14 nuclear accord, Tehran will not be granted much-needed
German prosecutors said on Thursday they had charged a former employee of the BND foreign intelligence agency with treason and suspect he gave secrets to both the United States and Russia up until last year. The arrest last year of the man, identified as Markus R., chilled relations between Berlin and Washington, the closest of allies during the Cold War, and followed revelations of extensive snooping on Germany by the
By Tom Perry BEIRUT (Reuters) – A marked escalation in Syria’s conflict including intensified fighting near Damascus this month could be a sign the warring sides are trying to strengthen their bargaining positions in case a flurry of diplomacy leads to negotiations. The high-level talks involving rival states with a stake in the war face formidable obstacles, not least the seemingly insurmountable division over President Bashar al-Assad’s future in a