Africa

Shelling of Gaza school kills at least 15; toll nears 800

By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Ori Lewis GAZA/JERUSALEM Thu Jul 24, 2014 9:29pm EDT (Reuters) – Gazan authorities said Israeli forces shelled a shelter at a U.N.-run school, killing at least 15 people, as the Palestinian death toll in the conflict reached 796 and attempts at a truce remained elusive. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed horror at the Thursday attack on the school at Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza strip. “Many have been killed […]

Explosions, gunfire heard near Kabul airport: Reuters witness

By Mirwais Harooni and Abdul Saboor KABUL Wed Jul 16, 2014 9:37pm EDT (Reuters) – Explosions and bursts of gunfire were heard near Kabul International Airport in the Afghan capital after dawn on Thursday and black smoke rose above the facility, which is used by civilians and the military. The attack on the airport comes at a time of great uncertainty for Afghanistan as votes from the second round of a disputed presidential election are […]

Eight killed in blasts in Egypt’s Sinai region

CAIRO Sun Jul 13, 2014 7:11pm EDT (Reuters) – One security officer and seven others were killed in two successive explosions around security areas in Egypt‘s Sinai region, near the border with Israel, the Interior Ministry and security officials said. Egypt has been hit by an Islamist insurgency led by Sinai-based militants, who have mainly targeted security forces since last year’s army ouster of elected Islamist President Mohamed Mursi. Hundreds of soldiers and police officers […]

Israel holds off on escalating Gaza barrage; West wants truce

By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Dan Williams GAZA/JERUSALEM Sun Jul 13, 2014 8:10pm EDT (Reuters) – Israel appeared to hold off on a threatened escalation of its week-old Gaza Strip barrage on Monday despite balking at Western calls for a ceasefire with an equally defiant Hamas. On Sunday, the Israeli military had warned residents of the northern border town of Beit Lahiya to leave or risk their lives when, after nightfall, it planned to intensify air […]

Gaza dead reach 78 as Israelis hint at invasion

By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Jeffrey Heller GAZA/JERUSALEM Thu Jul 10, 2014 8:24pm EDT (Reuters) – At least 78 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in Israel’s Gaza offensive, Palestinian officials said on Thursday as militants in the enclave kept up rocket attacks on Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other cities. As Israeli officials seemed to hint at a possible invasion by ground forces, eight members of one family, including five children, were killed in […]

Iraq parliament delayed for five weeks, general killed near Baghdad

By Isra’a al-Rubei’i and Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD Mon Jul 7, 2014 10:23pm EDT (Reuters) – Iraq’s new parliament put off its next session for five weeks on Monday, extending the country’s political paralysis amid a Sunni Islamist insurgency that claimed the life of an army general near Baghdad. Citing the politicians’ failure to reach “understanding and agreement” on nominations for the top three posts in government, the office of acting speaker Mehdi al-Hafidh said parliament […]

Israel launches military offensive against Gaza militants

By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Allyn Fisher-Ilan GAZA/JERUSALEM Mon Jul 7, 2014 8:53pm EDT (Reuters) – Israel launched an aerial offensive in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, bombing more than 30 targets including homes and calling it part of a campaign named “Operation Protective Edge” targeting Hamas Islamist militants firing rockets at the Jewish state. The military urged Israelis within a 40-km (24-mile) radius of the southern coastal territory to stay within reach of protected areas […]

Libya to announce elections results on July 20

TRIPOLI Sun Jul 6, 2014 3:13pm EDT (Reuters) – Libya will announce results of last month’s parliamentary elections on July 20, the head of the elections commission said on Sunday, pushing back the results another week. Fewer than half of registered Libyans voted, reflecting disillusionment with the chaos prevailing since Gaddafi’s overthrow. The government and outgoing parliament have failed to produce security and curb militias who helped oust Gaddafi but now defy state authority. The […]

Ukraine says forces will press forward after taking rebel stronghold

By Maria Tsvetkova SLAVIANSK Ukraine Sun Jul 6, 2014 7:52pm EDT (Reuters) – Ukraine’s government said it would quickly seize more territory from pro-Russian separatists after re-taking their stronghold of Slaviansk in what President Petro Poroshenko called a turning point in the fight for control of the country’s east. “My order is now in effect – tighten the ring around the terrorists,” Poroshenko tweeted on Sunday. “Continue the operation to liberate Donetsk and Luhansk regions,” […]

Bomb kills 20 in Nigeria market, girls’ abduction suspect held

(Reuters) – A bomb in a van carrying charcoal exploded in a busy market in northeast Nigeria on Tuesday, killing at least 20 people in the latest suspected attack by Islamist militants, witnesses said. The blast from the vehicle bomb wrecked cars and taxis that were unloading passengers and wares on a road adjoining the market in the Borno state capital of Maiduguri. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blast. But in recent months, […]