WORLD HEADLINES
By Humeyra Pamuk and Nick Tattersall ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish jets launched their heaviest assault on Kurdish militants in northern Iraq overnight since air strikes began last week, hours after President Tayyip Erdogan said a peace process had become impossible. The strikes hit Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) targets including shelters, depots and caves in six areas, a statement from Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s office said. Iraq condemned the air strikes
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, struggling to contain a revolt in his left-wing Syriza party, said on Wednesday that his government would not implement reform measures beyond those agreed with lenders at a euro zone summit this month. Tsipras faces a tough Syriza central committee session on Thursday with many activists angered by his acceptance of bailout terms more stringent than those voters rejected in a July 5 referendum. In
A car bomb exploded outside an Ismaili mosque in an eastern district of the Yemen’s war-damaged capital Sanaa on Wednesday, killing three people and wounding seven, a security source said. The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the attack on the Al Faydh Alhatemy mosque in the Nuqum district, describing it as revenge for what it called Ismaili support for Yemen’s dominant Houthi movement. The blast was the second
By Elizabeth Piper and Sergiy Karazy KIEV (Reuters) – From a basement billiard club in central Kiev, Dmytro Korchynsky commands a volunteer battalion helping Ukraine’s government fight rebels in the east. The exact number, he said, is “classified.” In the eyes of many Ukrainians, he and other volunteer fighters are heroes for helping the weak regular army resist pro-Russian separatists. In the view of the government, however, some of the
The U.S. State Department has approved the possible sale to Saudi Arabia of $5.4 billion in additional PAC-3 missiles built by Lockheed Martin Corp, the Pentagon said on Wednesday. The missile sale approval could help reassure Saudi Arabia about the U.S. commitment to its security. “Lockheed Martin is supporting the U.S. government and the kingdom of Saudi Arabia as they discuss the potential sale of additional PAC-3 Missiles as part
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish jets hit Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq overnight and the government said strikes would continue until the rebels lay down their arms, despite calls Wednesday by the pro-Kurdish opposition for an immediate end to the violence and the resumption of peace efforts.
The Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) has been shut since June 29, when the government closed banks and imposed strict limits on withdrawals and foreign transfers to prevent a run on deposits by savers and companies. “The stock market will not open tomorrow (Thursday) and it is unlikely to open on Friday. The Greek banks need to resolve some IT issues regarding the restrictions,” the spokeswoman said.
Deputies of the Islamist movement Hamas which rules Gaza on Wednesday renewed calls for a “revolt” against the internationally recognised Palestinian Authority over its sweeping arrests of anti-Israeli militants. The deputies, in an act of defiance, held a meeting in the parliament building in Gaza City that has not convened officially since 2007 when Hamas expelled PA security forces after a week of deadly clashes.
A car bombing claimed by the Islamic State group near a mosque in Yemen’s rebel-held capital killed four people Wednesday, medical sources and witnesses said. An IS Twitter user calling himself Karar al-Moayad said the jihadist group had carried out the attack and that it had caused “several dead”. Witnesses said the blast went off near a mosque of the Bohra sect of Shiite Islam, not far from Ath-Thawra Hospital
By Tulay Karadeniz ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday it was impossible to continue a peace process with Kurdish militants and urged parliament to strip politicians with links to them of immunity from prosecution. The PKK said the air strikes, launched virtually in parallel with strikes against Islamic State fighters in Syria, rendered the peace process meaningless but stopped short of formally pulling out.
