Britain's Daily Mail newspaper backs May for prime minister

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Daily Mail newspaper on Friday backed Theresa May's bid to become the next prime minister, saying she was the only one out of five candidates for the Conservative Party leadership who was up to the job.

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Israel should stop settlements, denying Palestinian development: draft Quartet report

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Israel should stop building settlements, denying Palestinian development and designating land for exclusive Israeli use that Palestinians seek for a future state, the Middle East peace "Quartet" recommended in a draft of an eagerly awaited report seen by Reuters.

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Australian election seen as a dead heat, minor parties likely powerbrokers

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia braced for an election that was too close to call on Friday, with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull warning of economic chaos if his gamble on an early poll backfires and leaves him without the outright majority he needs to enact major reforms.

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U.S. sailors divulged sensitive information while held by Iran: Navy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. sailors who blundered into Iranian waters in January divulged sensitive information to their captors while held at gunpoint by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a U.S. Navy report said on Thursday.

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U.S., Russia discuss Syria cooperation if Assad halts some strikes

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration is considering a plan to coordinate air strikes on Nusra Front and Islamic State militants in Syria if Syria'a government stops bombing moderate rebels, U.S. officials said on Thursday.

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Palestinian kills teen in Israeli settlement, then shot dead

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A Palestinian fatally stabbed a 13-year-old Israeli girl in her bedroom in a settlement in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, the military said, as international sponsors of frozen peace talks prepared to issue a report on the impasse.

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Ex-London mayor halts bid to be UK prime minister, upends race

LONDON (Reuters) - Former London mayor Boris Johnson abruptly pulled out of the race to become Britain's prime minister that he was once favored to win, upending the contest less than a week after he led a campaign to take the country out of the EU.

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Islamic State kills Christian priest in Egypt's North Sinai

CAIRO (Reuters) - Islamist militants gunned down a Christian priest in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula as he was fixing his car, the Interior Ministry and the Coptic Orthodox Church said on Thursday.

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Belgium transfers Paris attacks suspect to France

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - One of two men who drove to collect a key suspect in the Paris attacks the night after it occurred has been transferred to France from Belgium, Belgian federal prosecutors said on Thursday.

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Putin says let's see how British democracy works after Brexit

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The market turbulence caused by Britain's vote is set to subside in the medium term, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday, but it remains to be seen if after the result Britain will still uphold its principles of democracy.

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Beijing slams South China Sea case as court ruling nears

BEIJING/AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - An international court said it would deliver a hotly anticipated ruling in the Philippines' case against China over the South China Sea on July 12, drawing an immediate rebuke from Beijing, which rejects the tribunal's jurisdiction.

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In Brexit chaos, Conservative May pitches anti-Boris case for Britain's top job

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's interior minister Theresa May put herself forward on Thursday to replace Prime Minister David Cameron, promising to deal with divisions in the country that drove more than 17 million Britons to vote to leave the European Union.

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Turkish police raid suspected Islamic State cells in Istanbul, Izmir: Anadolu

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish police carried out raids against suspected Islamic State cells in Istanbul and the Aegean coastal city of Izmir, the state-run Anadolu agency said on Thursday, two days after a triple suicide bombing killed 42 people at Istanbul airport.

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U.S.-led strikes pound Islamic State in Iraq, kill 250 fighters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S.-led coalition aircraft waged a series of deadly strikes against Islamic State around the city of Falluja on Wednesday, U.S. officials told Reuters, with one official citing a preliminary estimate of at least 250 fighters killed and at least 40 vehicles destroyed.

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North American leaders vow to boost trade despite threats

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada, the United States and Mexico on Wednesday vowed to deepen their economic ties, pushing back against anti-free-trade sentiment that has shifted political debate in the United States and Europe.

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China slams South China Sea case as court set to rule

BEIJING/AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - China said on Wednesday an arbitration court hearing the dispute between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea had no jurisdiction in the case and that Beijing would not accept any forced dispute resolution.

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EU tells UK single market access requires full free movement

LONDON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders met for the first time without Britain on Wednesday less than a week after it voted to leave, delivering a tough message that London can access the bloc's lucrative single market only if it agrees to allow free movement for EU workers.

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China's Xi urges caution over U.S. missile deployment in South Korea

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday urged South Korea to pay attention to China's concerns about the deployment of the U.S. THAAD missile defense system to the country and "cautiously" address the plan.

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Europe launches reform 'reflection' after Brexit shock

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Hoping to stave off a broader political crisis after Britain's shock decision to leave the EU, European leaders agreed on Wednesday to spend the next nine months developing proposals for an overhaul of the bloc amid deep divisions between its members.

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UK's Cameron: Brexit talks can begin before Article 50 triggered

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron said his successor could begin negotiations with the European Union about the country's exit from the bloc before the formal 'Article 50' legal process is triggered, despite comments from the EU to the contrary.

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EU's Juncker to meet Scottish PM after UK says leaving EU

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission rolled out the red carpet for Scotland's first minister on Wednesday, hours after outgoing British Prime Minister David Cameron told an EU summit his country would be leaving the European Union following last week's referendum.

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U.S. backed Syrian rebels seize airport from IS near Iraqi border: monitor

AMMAN (Reuters) - U.S.-backed Syrian rebel fighters helped by Western-backed special forces seized a military airport held by Islamic State militants close to their strategic stronghold of Al-Bukamal near the Iraqi border, a monitor said on Wednesday.

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Two explosions hit Istanbul's Ataturk airport, multiple injuries: Turkish official

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Two explosions hit Istanbul's main Ataturk airport on Tuesday, wounding several people, a Turkish official told Reuters.

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EU leaders tell Britain to exit swiftly, market rout halts

LONDON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European leaders told Britain on Tuesday to act quickly to resolve the political and economic chaos unleashed by its vote to leave the European Union, a move the IMF said could put pressure on global growth.

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Data files from crashed EgyptAir plane sent back to Egypt

CAIRO (Reuters) - Data files from crashed EgyptAir flight MS804 were sent to Egypt on Tuesday after one of the plane's black box flight recorders was repaired in France, bringing investigators closer to explaining the doomed jet's fate.

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Cracks show inside Islamic State's shrinking caliphate

ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - It was barely more than a squiggle, but the mark of a single letter sprayed overnight on a wall in the heart of Islamic State's self-proclaimed caliphate was a daring act of dissent.

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IS Syria stronghold Raqqa next after Manbij operation is completed - U.S. official

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Once the operation against the Islamic State-held city of Manbij in northern Syria is completed, that creates the conditions to move on the militant group's main stronghold of Raqqa, Brett McGurk, U.S. President Barack Obama's special envoy in the fight against Islamic State said on Tuesday.

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Russia says U.S. warship in near miss with Russian vessel in Mediterranean

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's Defense Ministry on Tuesday said a U.S. destroyer had dangerously approached a Russian warship in the Mediterranean Sea on June 17, protesting at what it said was a flagrant violation by U.S. sailors of rules to avoid collisions at sea.

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Lebanon fears new terror wave after multiple suicide attack

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Lebanese government warned on Tuesday of a heightened terrorist threat after eight suicide bombers targeted a Christian village at the border with Syria, the latest spillover of its conflict into Lebanon.

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Kremlin: mending ties with Turkey 'not a matter of a few days'

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Tuesday it would take more than a few days to mend Russia's relations with Ankara, after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan expressed regret over the downing of a Russian military plane last year.

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No Syrian government attacks on Aleppo, Raqqa seen soon: Ifax cites Russian envoy

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's air force has helped Syrian government troops to escape encirclement near Aleppo, Interfax news agency on Tuesday quoted Russia's ambassador to Syria as saying, adding he did not expect Syria's army to assault the city in the nearest time.

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Exclusive: U.S. to downgrade Myanmar in annual human trafficking report - sources

WASHINGTON/YANGON (Reuters) - The United States has decided to place Myanmar on its global list of worst offenders in human trafficking, officials said, a move aimed at prodding the country’s new democratically elected government and its still-powerful military to do more to curb the use of child soldiers and forced labor.

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U.S.-UK alliance seen outweighing Brexit trade concerns

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States looks unlikely to follow through on a threat to relegate Britain to second-class trade status once its ally leaves the European Union, as it weighs the potential costs of undermining the countries' close diplomatic and military ties.

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Adios, Three Amigos: Obama heads to last summit with Canada, Mexico

WASHINGTON/OTTAWA (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will meet with the leaders of Canada and Mexico on Wednesday for his final "Three Amigos" summit, a meeting that may signal how keen the North American partners are to tout trade at a time of rising protectionist sentiment.

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Kerry raises harassment of U.S. diplomats in Moscow with Putin

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russian harassment and surveillance of U.S. diplomats in Moscow has increased significantly and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry raised the issue recently with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the State Department said on Monday.

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Crashed EgyptAir flight data recorder successfully repaired: investigation committee

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt investigators said on Monday that the flight data recorder of crashed EgyptAir flight MS804 had been successfully repaired, paving the way for investigators to analyze data that may explain why the jet plunged into the Mediterranean last month.

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UNICEF says 25 children reported killed in Syria

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Twenty-five children were reportedly killed in air strikes that hit heavily crowded areas in a town in eastern Syria, the United Nations children's agency (UNICEF) has said.

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Suicide bombers strike in Lebanese village, kill six: media

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Several suicide bombers killed six people and wounded 19 others in an attack in a Lebanese village at the border with Syria on Monday, Hezbollah's al-Manar reported.

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Pope says Church should ask forgiveness from gays for past treatment

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (Reuters) - Pope Francis said on Sunday that Christians and the Roman Catholic Church should seek forgiveness from homosexuals for the way they had treated them.

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CIA weapons for Syrian rebels sold to arms black market: NYT

(Reuters) - Weapons shipped into Jordan for Syrian rebels by the Central Intelligence Agency and Saudi Arabia were stolen by Jordanian intelligence operatives and sold to arms merchants on the black market, the New York Times reported, citing American and Jordanian officials.

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UK will retain access to the EU single market, says Brexit leader Johnson

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will continue to have access to the European Union's single market despite voting to leave the bloc, leading Brexit campaigner and favorite to become the country's next prime minister Boris Johnson said in a newspaper article on Sunday.

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Austrian far-right figure warns of 'Auxit' vote within a year

VIENNA (Reuters) - The European Union should avoid any moves towards political "centralization" or else Austria could hold a referendum on membership of the bloc within a year, a far-right candidate who almost won the country's presidential election said.

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UK opposition leader Corbyn says will not resign after Brexit vote

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said on Sunday he regretted the resignations of several members of his senior team of lawmakers in the wake of Britain's vote to leave the European Union but he did not plan to resign.

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To Brexit or Regrexit? A dis-United Kingdom ponders turmoil of EU divorce

LONDON (Reuters) - To leave, or not to leave: that is the question. Still.

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Spain votes to break political deadlock, far left set to rise

MADRID (Reuters) - Spaniards voted on Sunday in a parliamentary election in which the anti-austerity party Podemos is expected to make big gains, potentially delivering a fresh jolt to Europe's political mainstream after Britain voted to leave the European Union.

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British EU exit turmoil alarms Asia, rocks Labour opposition

LONDON/BEIJING (Reuters) - Turmoil unleashed by Britain's vote to leave the EU engulfed the opposition Labour Party while policymakers as far away as China, Japan and South Korea fretted on Sunday over the threat to global financial stability, hours before markets reopen.

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Iraqi forces retake Islamic State holdout in Falluja, declare battle over

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi forces recaptured the last remaining district held by Islamic State militants in the city of Falluja on Sunday and the general commanding the operation declared the battle complete.

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Merkel sees no need to rush Britain into quick EU divorce

LONDON/BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel sought on Saturday to temper pressure from Paris, Brussels and her own government to force Britain into negotiating a quick divorce from the EU, despite warnings that hesitation will let populism take hold.

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Syrian or Russian air strikes kill dozens in eastern Syria: monitoring group

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Air strikes carried out by Syrian or Russian warplanes killed dozens of people in eastern Syria on Saturday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group reported.

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More than 1.5 million and rising sign UK petition for new EU referendum

LONDON (Reuters) - Just days after voting to leave the European Union, more than 1.5 million Britons and UK residents had signed a petition calling for a second vote, forcing lawmakers to at least consider a debate on the issue.

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Large blast, gunfire in center of Somali capital: witness

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A large explosion followed by gunfire was heard in the center of the Somali capital Mogadishu on Saturday, a Reuters witness reported.

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Scotland's Sturgeon presses ahead with preparations for independence vote

EDINBURGH (Reuters) - Scotland's devolved government is preparing to present legislation allowing a second independence referendum while continuing discussions on its place within the European Union, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Saturday.

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France wants quick British divorce from EU, Germany cautious

BERLIN (Reuters) - France's foreign minister called on Saturday for the European Union to move ahead quickly to seal the terms of a British exit, arguing that the other 27 members needed to give the bloc new purpose or risk populism taking hold.

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Slovakia's far right launches petition for referendum on EU membership

BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - Slovakia's far right People's Party said on Saturday it was launching a petition for a referendum on the country's membership of the European Union after Britain voted to leave the bloc.

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Nexit, Frexit or Italeave? British vote fires up EU's 'Outers'

LONDON/BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Britain's vote to leave the European Union fired up populist eurosceptic parties across the continent on Friday, giving fresh voice to their calls to leave the bloc or its euro currency.

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From Edinburgh to Gibraltar, Brexit vote sparks new claims

LONDON (Reuters) - Within hours of Britons voting to leave the European Union, politicians in Scotland, Ireland and Spain raced on Friday to argue that the historic move bolstered claims over long-disputed parts of British territory.

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Boris Johnson is bookmaker's favorite to succeed Cameron

LONDON (Reuters) - Former London mayor and leading Brexit campaigner Boris Johnson is the favorite to succeed David Cameron as Prime Minister, bookmaker Ladbrokes said in a statement on Friday.

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UK PM Cameron says will step down by October after Brexit vote

LONDON (Reuters) - David Cameron said he would resign as Prime Minister by October after Britons ignored his pleas to stay in the European Union and voted in a referendum to leave.

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Hungary PM Orban says UK vote shows Brussels must listen to popular voice

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Britain's vote to leave the European Union shows that Brussels must listen to the voice of the people and give proper answers to such pivotal issues as migration, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday.

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Scottish leader says future in EU as Britain votes to leave

EDINBURGH (Reuters) - Scotland sees its future firmly in the European Union, its leader said on Friday as most of the rest of Britain voted to leave, raising the specter of a new independence vote and the possible dissolution of the United Kingdom.

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Australia PM sees uncertainty, instability as UK on brink of Brexit

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Friday he expects a period of uncertainty and some instability in global markets as Britain was on the verge of Brexit but the immediate impact on Australia will be limited.

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Savage storm pummels eastern China, killing 98

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A violent storm in eastern China that packed gale-force winds and hail killed 98 people and injured hundreds as it flattened power lines, overturned cars and ripped roofs off houses in Jiangsu province.

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Boat migrant rescues surge as calm seas return to Mediterranean

ABOARD THE TOPAZ RESPONDER (Reuters) - Ships manned by humanitarian organizations, the Italian navy and coast guard helped rescue about 4,500 boat migrants on Thursday as calm seas returned to the Mediterranean, prompting a surge in departures from North Africa.

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Car bomb in eastern Turkey kills one civilian, wounds 2 soldiers: security sources

ANKARA (Reuters) - A car bomb exploded near a gendarmerie station in southeastern Turkish province of Mardin on Thursday, security sources said, killing one truck driver and wounding two officers.

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Obama speaks with Kenya president about support for refugees

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama spoke by telephone on Thursday with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta about the need for strong international support for refugees living in the East African country, the White House said.

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Tornado, hail storms kill at least 78 people in eastern China

BEIJING (Reuters) - A tornado, hail storms and driving rain killed at least 78 people and injured some 500 in eastern China on Thursday, flattening power lines, overturning cars and ripping roofs off houses in Jiangsu province.

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Man opens fire in German cinema complex, shot dead by police: media reports

BERLIN (Reuters) - A masked man opened fire in a cinema complex in the small western German town of Viernheim, near Frankfurt, on Thursday,

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Pistorius says murdered girlfriend would want him to go free: ITV

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Oscar Pistorius said that Reeva Steenkamp, the girlfriend he was convicted of murdering on Valentine's Day 2013, would want him to go free, in a television interview due to be broadcast on Friday.

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Southeast Asian Islamic State unit being formed in southern Philippines: officials

JAKARTA/MANILA (Reuters) - Southeast Asian militants who claim to be fighting for Islamic State in the Middle East have said they have chosen one of the most wanted men in the Philippines to head a regional faction of the ultra-radical group, security officials said on Thursday.

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Japan probes suspected North Korean rocket nose cone amid growing missile concerns

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan on Thursday began to examine the suspected nose cone of a North Korean rocket that washed up on a Japanese beach hoping to glean information on the reclusive state's ballistic missile program a day after it test-launched two more missiles.

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China brushes off doubts over support on South China Sea, says it is growing

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Foreign Ministry on Thursday brushed off doubts about how many countries have offered support for its position in a case brought by the Philippines over Chinese claims in the South China Sea, saying the number of nations was growing daily.

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North Korea leader says missile gives ability to attack U.S. in Pacific

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea leader Kim Jong Un said after supervising the test launch of a "medium long-range strategic ballistic missile" that the country came to possess "the sure capability to attack" U.S. interests in the Pacific, official media reported on Thursday.

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U.S. warns China against provocations once court rules on sea claims

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States warned China on Wednesday against taking "additional provocative actions" following an impending international court ruling on the South China Sea that is expected to largely reject Beijing's broad territorial claims.

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Killing of British lawmaker was 'an act of terror', says husband

LONDON (Reuters) - The widower of murdered British lawmaker Jo Cox said her killing was an act of terror as he paid tribute to his late wife on Wednesday alongside hundreds of mourners at an emotional memorial in London's Trafalgar Square.

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Conflict among U.S. allies in northern Syria clouds war on Islamic State

GAZIANTEP, Turkey (Reuters) - A smoldering confrontation between Syrian armed groups backed by the United States but hostile to each other is escalating, complicating the fight against Islamic State in the war-torn country.

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Falluja gains boost Iraqi PM ahead of Mosul, but for how long?

FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) - The rapid entry of Iraqi forces into central Falluja last week surprised many who expected a drawn-out battle with Islamic State for the bastion of Iraq's Sunni insurgency, where some of the toughest fighting of the U.S. occupation took place.

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Steely will seen behind Kim's push for North Korea weapons that work

SEOUL (Reuters) - Images in March of a smiling Kim Jong Un inspecting a silver sphere, purported to be a miniaturized nuclear warhead but likened in the media to a disco ball, burnished the North Korean leader's international image as deluded and reckless.

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Libyan forces take losses in battle for Sirte against Islamic State

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libyan forces fighting Islamic State in its stronghold of Sirte said on Wednesday that 36 of their men had been killed and nearly 150 wounded in the previous day's clashes, one of the heaviest tolls in their month-long campaign.

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North Korea missile reaches new heights, 'intensifying' threat to Japan

SEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) - North Korea launched what appeared to be an intermediate-range missile on Wednesday to a high altitude in the direction of Japan before it plunged into the sea, military officials said, a technological advance for the isolated state after several test failures.

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On eve of fateful British EU referendum, rivals race for final votes

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron and his eurosceptic opponents were crisscrossing Britain on Wednesday in a final push for votes on the eve of a momentous referendum on European Union membership.

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Gains against Islamic State not yet enough, could backfire: U.S. officials

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and some administration officials have hailed recent military gains against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, but other U.S. officials and outside experts warn that the U.S.-backed air and ground campaign is far from eradicating the radical Islamic group, and could even backfire.

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EU agrees extending Russia economic sanctions, formal decision pending: sources

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union's Brussels envoys agreed on Tuesday to extend until the end of January the energy, financial and defense sanctions on Russia over the conflict in Ukraine, but formal approval is still pending, diplomatic sources said.

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Obama pick to lead U.S. military in Africa favors powers to strike Islamic State

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's nominee to lead the U.S. military in Africa on Tuesday backed the idea of gaining greater power to strike Islamic State, including in Libya, which he described as the group's Plan B as it loses territory in Iraq and Syria.

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Senior U.S. diplomat to meet with Venezuelan officials amid crisis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. diplomat Tom Shannon will meet with senior Venezuelan officials in Caracas on Tuesday, a senior State Department official said, a week after Secretary of State John Kerry said he wanted high-level talks to ease tensions with the country's socialist government.

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U.S. aircraft carrier docks in Crete after Islamic State battles

(Reuters) - The USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier arrived in Crete on Tuesday, giving its 5,500 crew members a Greek island break after seven months at sea and over 2,000 missions launched against Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria.

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Egypt will decide on Tuesday if EgyptAir black boxes should be sent abroad for repairs: minister

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy said investigators will decide later on Tuesday whether the memory units of crashed EgyptAir flight MS804's black box recorders will need to be sent abroad or could be repaired locally.

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U.S. to give Afghan forces $3 billion a year from 2018-2020: official

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States plans to provide more than $3 billion a year in support for the Afghan national security forces from 2018 through 2020, U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Olson said on Tuesday.

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Russia calls for swift resumption of Syria peace talks

GENEVA (Reuters) - Russia called on Tuesday for a swift resumption of stalled Syrian peace talks, saying it was the only way to halt "massive violations" of human rights perpetrated in the five-year-old conflict.

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Yemen missile launch, deadly air strike shake truce

ADEN, Yemen (Reuters) - A Saudi-led military coalition said it intercepted a missile fired in Yemen on Tuesday and residents said an air strike by the alliance killed and wounded eight civilians, straining a civil war ceasefire.

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With two days to go, Britain's EU referendum on a knife-edge

LONDON (Reuters) - With two days to go until a referendum on EU membership that will shape the future of the European Union and the West, polls and surveys indicated British opinion is so divided that the outcome is too close to call.

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Man found wearing fake bomb belt causes security scare in jittery Brussels

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A man who said he was wearing a bomb belt rigged to explode by remote control caused a major scare in a Brussels commercial district on Tuesday before police found the device contained only salt and biscuits, officials said.

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Six Jordanian border guards killed in car bomb attack: source

BEIRUT (Reuters) - A car bomb attack at the Jordanian-Syrian border on Tuesday killed six Jordanian guards and wounded 14 more, a Jordanian army source said.

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Hong Kong presses Beijing on case of missing booksellers

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong's leader said on Tuesday he had asked China whether its handling of the booksellers case violated the "one country, two systems" formula under which the city returned to Chinese rule, the strongest response yet from the former British colony.

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Japan military on alert for possible North Korean ballistic missile launch

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's military is on alert for a possible North Korean ballistic missile launch, a government source said, with local media reporting its navy and anti-missile Patriot batteries have been told to shoot down any projectile heading for Japan.

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Chinese economic cyber-espionage plummets in U.S.: experts

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The Chinese government appears to be abiding by its September pledge to stop supporting the hacking of American trade secrets to help companies there compete, private U.S. security executives and government advisors said on Monday.

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'In' regains ground as UK's EU referendum comes down to the wire

EDINBURGH (Reuters) - Two opinion polls on Monday suggested that the "Remain" camp had recovered some ground in Britain's European Union referendum debate following the murder of a pro-EU lawmaker, but a third poll found those wanting to leave were ahead by a whisker.

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U.S. navy chief hopes carriers deter East Asia destabilization

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy chief said on Monday he hoped the deployment of two aircraft carriers on a training mission in East Asia would deter any attempts to destabilize the region, where military tensions have risen amid China's growing assertiveness.

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Armed man enters Venezuela central bank: witnesses

CARACAS (Reuters) - An armed man has broken into Venezuela's central bank, and employees were hunkered down in their offices, two sources inside the institution said on Monday.

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Venezuela opposition lines up to seek Maduro recall

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan opposition sympathizers lined up on Monday around the country to validate signatures as part of a painstaking process to request a recall referendum against President Nicolas Maduro, who is deeply unpopular due to the country's economic crisis.

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In the shadow of a murder, Britain to vote on EU membership

LONDON (Reuters) - Britons will shape the future of the United Kingdom and Europe on Thursday when they decide whether to stay in the European Union following a campaign that has shown the potency of anti-establishment feeling in the West.

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Myanmar's Suu Kyi reiterates stance on not using term 'Rohingya': official

YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi has told the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights that the government will avoid using the term "Rohingya" to describe a persecuted Muslim minority in the country's northwest, an official told Reuters on Monday.

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NATO commander sees no imminent Russian threat to Baltics

PRAGUE (Reuters) - NATO is not contemplating a troop build-up in East Europe and the Baltics beyond exisiting plans as there is no imminent threat from Russia, despite fears amongst Baltic states, the alliance's military chief said on Monday.

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British politician quits Brexit camp, citing 'lies and xenophobia'

LONDON (Reuters) - A senior British politician on Monday accused those campaigning for Britain to leave the European Union of spreading lies, hate and xenophobia, saying she was switching to the "Remain" camp.

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Record 65.3 million people displaced, often face barriers: UNHCR

GENEVA (Reuters) - A record 65.3 million people were uprooted worldwide last year, many of them fleeing wars only to face walls, tougher laws and xenophobia as they reach borders, the United Nations refugee agency said on Monday.

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Minibus blast in Afghan capital Kabul kills several - police

KABUL (Reuters) - An explosion hit a minibus carrying government employees in the Afghan capital Kabul early on Monday, killing and wounding several, police said.

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Keyboard warriors: South Korea trains new frontline in decades-old war with North

SEOUL (Reuters) - In one college major at Seoul's elite Korea University, the courses are known only by number, and students keep their identities a secret from outsiders.

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Three dead, 45 injured as labor union clashes with police in Mexico

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A violent clash between members of a dissident teachers' union and police in southern Mexico on Sunday has left three dead and 45 injured, as law enforcement attempts to dislodge the protesters from blocking a local highway.

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Austrian foreign minister calls for improving relationship with Moscow

VIENNA (Reuters) - Austria's foreign minister said on Sunday it was time for the European Union to make an effort to identify common ground with Russia.

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PM Renzi faces heavy defeat in Italy mayoral elections: exit polls

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's anti-establishment 5-Star Movement looked set to easily win the election for mayor in Rome and was also on course to take Turin, exit polls said on Sunday, dealing a severe blow to Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.

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Fourteen dead, mostly children, in Russian boating accident

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Fourteen people, mostly children, have died after boats capsized in stormy weather during an outing on a lake in the Republic of Karelia in north-west Russia, the local Emergencies Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

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Crashed EgyptAir jet flight recorders severely damaged

CAIRO (Reuters) - The memory units of both flight recorders from crashed EgyptAir flight MS804 are severely damaged and will require "lots of time and effort" to fix, Egyptian aircraft accident investigation committee sources said on Sunday.

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Brussels central station evacuated amid heightened security fears

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Brussels central train station was evacuated for about an hour on Sunday because of a suspicious suitcase amid heightened security fears in the Belgian capital after a huge anti-terror operation led to three men being charged with terrorism offences.

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Iraqi camps overwhelmed as residents flee Falluja fighting

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi government-run camps struggled on Sunday to shelter people fleeing Falluja, as the military battled Islamic State militants in the city's northern districts.

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Britain's rival EU campaigns restart as polls show momentum for 'In'

LONDON (Reuters) - The campaign to decide Britain's membership of the European Union restarted on Sunday after a three-day hiatus following the killing of lawmaker Jo Cox, with Prime Minister David Cameron warning that Britons faced an "existential choice" on Thursday.

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Russia, U.S. agree on need to improve military coordination in Syria: Russian defense ministry

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia and the United States have agreed on the need to improve coordination to avert incidents while conducting military operations in Syria, the Russian defense ministry said on Sunday.

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Thousands protest U.S. bases on Okinawa after Japan woman's murder

NAHA, Japan (Reuters) - Thousands of people gathered on the Japanese island of Okinawa on Sunday in one of the biggest demonstrations in two decades against U.S. military bases following the arrest of an American suspected of murdering a local woman.

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Hong Kong's stateless children lost in translation as refugee claims soar

HONG KONG (Reuters) - The number of stateless children born to refugees is growing in Hong Kong, where claims from asylum seekers have more than tripled in the last two years, alarming residents and lawmakers.

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China foreign minister urges U.S. not to interfere with Tibet in call to Kerry

BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States should not interfere in China's internal affairs on matters related to Tibet, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in a phone call on Saturday.

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Polls give boost to Cameron's fight against Brexit

LONDON (Reuters) - The campaign to keep Britain in the European Union regained its lead in two opinion polls published on Saturday, giving a boost to Prime Minister David Cameron who is battling to avoid a historic "Out" vote in Thursday's referendum.

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Momentum swinging back to 'In' camp ahead of UK's EU vote: YouGov

LONDON (Reuters) - Support for Britain staying in the European Union is recovering, an executive with polling firm YouGov said after two YouGov polls on Saturday showed a shift in momentum towards the "In" camp.

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Poll gives UK's 'Out' camp 2-point lead ahead of EU vote: Mirror

LONDON (Reuters) - The campaign for Britain to leave the European Union held a two-point lead over the rival "In" camp, according to an opinion poll conducted on Wednesday and Thursday and was reported by The Mirror newspaper on Saturday.

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UK's 'In' and 'Out' camps neck-and-neck before EU vote: Opinium poll

LONDON (Reuters) - The campaign for Britain to leave the European Union has made up ground to draw level with its rival "In" campaign ahead of Thursday's EU membership referendum, according to an Opinium poll for the Observer newspaper published on Saturday.

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Jo Cox murder suspect says name is 'Death to traitors, freedom for Britain'

LONDON (Reuters) - The man charged with murdering British lawmaker Jo Cox gave his name as "death to traitors, freedom for Britain" when he appeared in court on Saturday accused of a killing that could be a defining moment in a vote on European Union membership.

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U.S. dangles large land return as anti-base resentment surges in Okinawa

OKINAWA, Japan (Reuters) - The United States Marine Corps in Okinawa may hand back a 10,000 acre (40.5 square km) tract of land to Japan early next year, its commander said on Saturday, as Washington confronts a surge in opposition to U.S. military bases there following the murder of a Japanese woman.

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Dawn attacks on Kurdish quarter of Syria's Aleppo kill seven: monitor

BEIRUT (Reuters) - At least seven people died in rebel shelling of a neighborhood of the Syrian city of Aleppo held by the Kurdish YPG militia at dawn on Saturday, a monitoring group said.

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Belgian police arrest 12 suspected of planning new attacks: prosecutor

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Twelve people suspected of planning new attacks were arrested across Belgium overnight after police carried out about 40 house searches in the country, the federal prosecutor's office said in a statement on Saturday.

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Iraqi PM declares victory over Islamic State in Falluja

FALLUJA/BAGHDAD, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi forces on Friday entered the center of Falluja, the Iraqi city longest held by Islamic State, nearly four weeks after the start of a U.S.-backed offensive that cleared out the tens of thousands of residents still there.

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UK police examine right-wing extremism link to murder of lawmaker

BIRSTALL, England (Reuters) - British police said on Friday right-wing extremism was an important line of inquiry in the murder of lawmaker Jo Cox after a man with suspected neo-Nazi links and a history of mental illness was arrested over the killing.

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Boko Haram militants kill seven police in attack in Niger: military

NIAMEY (Reuters) - Suspected Boko Haram militants attacked a village in Niger while a delegation of ministers were visiting, killing seven gendarmes and wounding 12 in a gun battle, the military said on Friday.

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Putin says accepts U.S. is sole superpower, dilutes Trump praise

ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Friday he accepted the United States was probably still the world's sole superpower and he was ready to work with whoever won the presidency, but didn't want to be told how to live by Americans.

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U.N. peacekeepers kill seven Congo rebels amid inter-ethnic tensions

KINSHASA (Reuters) - United Nations peacekeepers killed seven rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday as part of operations to tamp down rising inter-ethnic tensions in the area, the U.N. mission said on Friday.

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Boko Haram shoot dead 18 women at funeral in northern Nigeria

YOLA, Nigeria (Reuters) - Boko Haram militants have shot dead 18 women at a funeral in Nigeria's northeast, rampaging through a village, setting houses on fire and shooting at random, witnesses and local government officials said on Friday.

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U.S. says it will stay in Black Sea despite Russian warning

ABOARD THE USS MASON (Reuters) - The United States will maintain its presence in the Black Sea despite a Russian warning that a U.S. destroyer patrolling there undermined regional security, the U.S. Navy Secretary said.

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Dozens of U.S. diplomats urge military strikes against Syria's Assad

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 50 State Department diplomats have signed an internal memo sharply critical of U.S. policy in Syria, calling for military strikes against President Bashar al-Assad's government to stop its persistent violations of a civil war ceasefire.

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Russia strikes U.S.-backed rebels in Syria: U.S. official

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russia carried out air strikes on Thursday in southern Syria against rebels battling Islamic State, including forces backed by the United States, a senior U.S. defense official said, adding Washington would raise the matter with Moscow.

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Polls show Britain's EU 'Out' campaign pulls ahead as referendum nears

LONDON (Reuters) - British support for leaving the European Union has surged, according to two telephone opinion surveys published a week before the June 23 referendum, with one pollster putting support for "Leave" at a more than three-year high.

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Nine killed as Congo troops clash with ex-militia fighters: NGO

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - At least nine people died in clashes in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that erupted when government soldiers prevented former fighters from leaving a camp for demobilized militia groups, officials said on Thursday.

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Britain's EU referendum campaigns suspended as lawmaker critically injured in attack

BIRSTALL, England (Reuters) - A British Member of Parliament was in critical condition after being shot and stabbed in her constituency in northern England on Thursday, British police and media reports said, prompting the suspension of campaigning for next week's EU referendum.

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Federal plan for northern Syria advances with U.S.-backed forces

BEIRUT (Reuters) - As an alliance of U.S.-backed militias advance against Islamic State in northern Syria, their political allies are making progress of their own toward a new federal system of government which they hope will take root in newly captured areas.

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Civilians stuck inside IS-held Falluja at risk of disease: WHO

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of civilians stranded inside Islamic State-controlled Falluja are at risk of disease outbreaks as Iraqi government forces press their assault to retake the city, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said on Thursday.

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Islamic State committing genocide against Yazidis: U.N.

GENEVA (Reuters) - Islamic State is committing genocide against the Yazidis in Syria and Iraq to destroy the religious community of 400,000 people through killings, sexual slavery and other crimes, United Nations investigators said on Thursday.

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Exclusive: Former EU chief Delors says British membership positive for EU

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Former European Commission President Jacques Delors, the father of modern European integration, said in a statement to Reuters on Thursday that British membership is positive both for the United Kingdom and for the European Union.

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Russia says two-day ceasefire begins in Syria's Aleppo

MOSCOW (Reuters) - On Moscow's initiative, a two-day "regime of calmness" was introduced in Syria's largest city of Aleppo, beginning from Thursday, the Russian defense ministry said.

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NATO approves keeping expanded Afghan basing, in nod to long fight

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The NATO alliance agreed on Wednesday to hold onto its broad geographic layout of bases in Afghanistan, a move that could make it easier for the United States to keep more troops there as Kabul struggles with a resurgent Taliban threat.

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Ally of drug lord 'El Chapo' arrested in Mexico after U.S. prison time

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A top drug-trafficking accomplice of Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman was arrested in Mexico on Wednesday for his alleged role in two murders, shortly after he was returned from the United States after completing a prison sentence for distributing cocaine.

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Saudi prince seeks to repair ties, promote business on U.S. visit

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's powerful deputy crown prince held a full day of meetings with U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday, part of a visit aimed at restoring frayed ties with Washington and promoting his plan to wean the kingdom away from oil revenue.

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NATO may counter cyber attacks with conventional weapons: Stoltenberg

BERLIN (Reuters) - NATO may react to future cyber attacks by deploying conventional weapons, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview published by Germany's Bild newspaper on Thursday.

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U.N. won't disclose sources for report critical of Saudi coalition

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations will not disclose to a Saudi Arabia-led coalition sensitive sources of information that led the world body to briefly blacklist it for maiming and killing children in Yemen, a U.N. spokesman said on Wednesday.

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Search vessel has identified main locations of EgyptAir wreckage: statement

CAIRO (Reuters) - A deep ocean search vessel hunting for the remains of an EgyptAir jet that crashed in the eastern Mediterranean last month has identified several main locations of its wreckage, the Egyptian investigation committee said on Wednesday.

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Turkish president believes EU visa liberalization can be agreed

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday he believed it was possible to achieve a positive outcome on EU visa liberalization, which would take into account Turkey's stance on fighting terrorism.

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Hundreds arrested in Venezuela after latest bout of unrest

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan security forces have arrested at least 400 people after the latest bout of looting and food riots in the crisis-hit OPEC member country, local officials said on Wednesday.

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Escalation in violence locks out aid, food for rebel-held parts of Aleppo: NGOs

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Aid has been cut from rebel-held areas of Aleppo for the longest period since the Syrian civil war began due to an escalation in air strikes and bombardments, driving up food prices and choking efforts to ease the plight of residents.

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UK's Osborne faces rebellion over Brexit emergency budget

LONDON (Reuters) - Finance minister George Osborne said on Wednesday he would introduce an emergency budget if Britain voted to leave the European Union, but 57 of his own Conservative Party's lawmakers said they would block his spending cuts and tax hikes.

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Southeast Asian countries retract statement expressing concerns on South China Sea

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Southeast Asian countries withdrew a statement that expressed the region's deep concerns over tension in the South China Sea, where China is involved in protracted territorial disputes with some of its neighbors.

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China says has lodged representations with U.S. over Dalai Lama meeting

BEIJING (Reuters) - China has lodged diplomatic representations with the United States over a planned meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama at the White House on Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry said.

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Food riots kill one more in Venezuela: legislator

CARACAS (Reuters) - A man was shot dead on Tuesday during looting and food riots proliferating round crisis-hit Venezuela, an opposition legislator said, bringing to at least four the number of fatalities from this month's wave of unrest.

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Chinese spy ship shadows U.S., Japanese, Indian naval drill in the Western Pacific

OKINAWA, Japan (Reuters) - A Chinese observation ship shadowed the powerful U.S. aircraft carrier, John C. Stennis, in the Western Pacific on Wednesday, a Japanese official said, joining warships from Japan and India in drills close to waters Beijing considers its backyard.

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U.S. Third Fleet expands East Asia role as tensions rise with China

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy's Third Fleet will send more ships to East Asia to operate outside its normal theater alongside the Japan-based Seventh Fleet, a U.S. official said on Tuesday, a move that comes at a time of heightened tensions with China.

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Brazil's Rousseff open to elections if survives impeachment

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's suspended President Dilma Rousseff said she is preparing a letter to Brazilians that will offer a new political pact that could include a referendum on calling early elections if she survives an impeachment trial in the Senate.

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Saudi-led Yemen coalition demands sources for critical U.N. report

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A Saudi Arabia-led military coalition has asked the United Nations to reveal details on the sources of information that led the world body to briefly blacklist it for maiming and killing children in Yemen and invited U.N. experts to come to Riyadh.

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Iran's Khamenei threatens to 'set fire' to nuclear deal if West violates

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, threatened on Tuesday to "set fire" to the nuclear deal sealed with world powers if U.S. presidential candidates reneged on the agreement.

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Exclusive: North Korea may be 'significantly' upping nuclear bomb output - report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea may be significantly expanding its nuclear weapons production and could have added six or more weapons to its stockpile in the last 18 months, a U.S. research institute said on Tuesday.

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U.S.-backed forces in Syria appeal for aid for hundreds fleeing IS

NEAR MANBIJ, Syria/BEIRUT (Reuters) - - U.S.-backed forces waging an offensive against the Islamic State-held city of Manbij in northern Syria appealed for international assistance for those fleeing the fighting on Tuesday as the forces tightened their encirclement of the city.

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NATO to agree eastern force to deter Russia, some allies want more

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO was set on Tuesday to agree deployment of a new force in the Baltics and Poland, the last of a series of steps to deter a resurgent Russia but which some allies say must go further to be credible.

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Italian ex-PM Berlusconi's heart surgery went well: source

MILAN (Reuters) - Heart surgery on former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi to replace a defective aortic valve went well, a source from his Forza Italia (Go Italy!) party said on Tuesday.

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Australia reviews visa of Islamic scholar over homosexuality comments

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia is urgently reviewing the visa of a British Islamic scholar who toured Orlando this year and had preached in 2013 that "death is the sentence" for homosexual acts.

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French police commander stabbed to death in front of his home

PARIS (Reuters) - A 42-year-old police commander was stabbed to death in front of his home on Monday night in the Paris suburb of Magnanville and his assailant, who had barricaded himself in the policeman's house, was later shot dead by members of an elite police unit, officials said.

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Europeans view Islamic State as top threat: survey

BERLIN (Reuters) - Europeans view the militant group Islamic State as the biggest threat facing their countries, ahead of climate change, economic instability and refugees, a survey by the Pew Research Center showed on Monday.

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'Leave' open up 7 point lead over 'Remain' before EU referendum: YouGov poll

LONDON (Reuters) - British support for leaving the European Union stood at 46 percent, ahead of the 39 percent who want to remain part of the bloc, according to a YouGov poll for The Times published on Monday.

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U.N. agency cuts 2016 estimate for refugee arrivals in Europe

GENEVA (Reuters) - The U.N. refugee agency said on Monday it expects 248,000 refugees and migrants to arrive in Europe via the Eastern Mediterranean this year, far lower than the "up to 1 million" it foresaw at the start of the year.

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Second U.S. aircraft carrier enters Mediterranean: U.S. Navy

BERLIN (Reuters) - The U.S. aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower entered the Mediterranean late on Monday, the U.S. Navy said, at a time when U.S. officials are raising alarm over Russia's maritime expansion.

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U.S. says Apache helicopter carries out strike in Iraq

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The United States carried out a strike in Iraq on Monday against an Islamic State target using an Apache attack helicopter for the first time since President Barack Obama authorized its use in offensive operations earlier this year.

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'Feed people, not wars,' pope says in address to U.N. food agency

ROME (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Monday condemned the use of hunger as a "weapon of war" and lamented the fact that it was easier to move weapons across borders than the aid needed to keep civilians alive.

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Nervous Baltics on war footing as NATO tries to deter Russia

VILNIUS (Reuters) - Leaders in the Baltic countries and Poland fear the force NATO plans to deploy on their territory is too small and symbolic to deter an attack by Russia, whose 2014 annexation of Crimea is fresh in the memories of the former Soviet-bloc states.

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U.N. rights boss deplores detention of migrants in Europe

GENEVA (Reuters) - The U.N. human rights chief on Monday decried a "worrying rise" in detentions of migrants in Greece and Italy and urged authorities to find alternatives to confining children while asylum requests are processed.

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EU's Tusk says Brexit could threaten western political civilization

BERLIN (Reuters) - If Britons vote to leave the European Union in a June 23 referendum it could be the beginning of the end for the 28-nation bloc and for western political civilization more generally, European Council President Donald Tusk said.

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U.S. may not make Afghanistan troop decision by Warsaw summit

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama may not decide before a NATO summit next month whether to alter plans to nearly halve America's forces in Afghanistan, a diplomat and a U.S. official said.

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Bomb blast in central Beirut aimed at bank: minister

BEIRUT (Reuters) - A bomb exploded outside the headquarters of Lebanese Blom Bank in central Beirut on Sunday, causing damage but no fatalities, the interior minister said.

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'Road of death' to Aleppo pounded as air strikes cut off rebel areas

GAZIANTEP, Turkey/AMMAN (Reuters) - The opposition-held sector of Syria's divided city of Aleppo has been cut off from the outside world in recent days by an escalation of air and artillery strikes on the only road in, putting hundreds of thousands of people under effective siege.

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Whisked to Rome from Khartoum: people-smuggling kingpin or wrong man?

ROME (Reuters) - The slender Eritrean man with a close-cropped beard was arrested by Sudanese police on the afternoon of May 24 at a coffee shop in Khartoum. Two weeks later, he was flown to Italy in what Italian and British officials hailed as a rare blow against human trafficking.

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Thousands flee Falluja using first safe exit route secured by Iraqi army

BAGHDAD/ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - The Iraqi army said on Sunday it had secured the first safe exit route for civilians to leave Islamic State's besieged stronghold Falluja, and a Norwegian aid group said thousands of people had already used it to flee in the first day it was open.

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Bomber hits field hospital as Libyan forces battle Islamic State in Sirte

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed three and wounded seven at a field hospital for forces fighting Islamic State in their Libyan coastal stronghold of Sirte on Sunday, a security source said.

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Britain's authority within EU will rise after 'In' vote: PM Cameron

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's influence in the European Union will be stronger if it votes to remain in the bloc in a June 23 referendum, Prime Minister David Cameron said on Sunday with the latest polls showing Britons almost evenly split over whether to stay or go.

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EU vote shapes political landscape in Britain's north

NEWCASTLE, England (Reuters) - With a waxed jacket over a crisp suit, and very southern vowels, former commodity broker Nigel Farage cuts an incongruous figure in England's industrial north as he campaigns for Britain to leave the European Union.

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Blast from 'self-made' explosive injures three in Shanghai airport

BEIJING (Reuters) - A blast caused by "self-made explosive materials" injured three people at a terminal in Shanghai's Pudong International Airport on Sunday, the Shanghai Airport Authority said.

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China says more talks needed to build consensus on nuclear export club

BEIJING (Reuters) - China said on Sunday that more talks were needed to build a consensus on which countries can join the main group controlling access to sensitive nuclear technology, after a push by the United States to include India.

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U.S.-backed forces push deeper into Islamic State territory in northern Syria: monitor

AMMAN (Reuters) - U.S.-backed Syrian forces made new territorial gains against Islamic State on Saturday, moving closer to another of its major strongholds in northern Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

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Suicide, car bomb blasts hit Damascus suburb, at least eight dead: state media

AMMAN (Reuters) - At least eight people were killed and scores wounded in twin suicide and car bomb blasts on Saturday in a Damascus suburb that contains Syria's holiest Shi'ite Muslim shrine, state television said.

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Libyan forces claim port in Islamic State stronghold of Sirte

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Forces aligned with Libya's unity government said on Friday they had taken control of the port of Sirte, making further gains in Islamic State's North African stronghold.

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Coalition air strikes, Turkish artillery kill 31 Islamic State members in Syria: media

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - U.S.-led coalition jets and Turkish artillery killed 31 Islamic State militants in Syria, the local Dogan News Agency reported on Saturday, without saying when the attacks occurred.

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Al Qaeda leader pledges allegiance to new Taliban leader

CAIRO (Reuters) - Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri, in an online audio message, pledged allegiance to the new head of the Afghan Taliban, who was appointed last month after his predecessor was killed in a US drone strike.

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U.N. says Israeli move on Palestinian permits may be collective punishment

GENEVA (Reuters) - Israel's cancellation of entry permits for Palestinians following a deadly attack in Tel Aviv may amount to collective punishment, which is banned under international law, the United Nations' top human rights official said on Friday.

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Peru's Fujimori concedes defeat in tight presidential election

LIMA (Reuters) - Keiko Fujimori conceded defeat to Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in Peru's tightest presidential election in decades, but she promised in a speech on Friday that her party would make up a "watchful" opposition during his government.

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World leaders, celebrities to pay final tribute to Muhammad Ali

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Reuters) - World leaders, celebrities, boxing fans and people who admired Muhammad Ali as a man will gather on Friday in his Kentucky hometown for one last goodbye to a towering global figure who died a week ago at age 74.

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U.S., Iraqi officials can't confirm report Islamic State leader Baghdadi wounded

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. and Iraqi officials fighting Islamic State said on Friday they could not confirm a report by an Iraqi TV channel that Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had been wounded in an air strike in northern Iraq.

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U.S.-backed forces cut off all routes into IS-held Manbij: Syrian Observatory

BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.S.-backed forces cut off all routes in and out of the Islamic State-held city of Manbij near the Syrian-Turkish border on Friday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.

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Russia: We will respond to entry of U.S. naval vessel into Black Sea

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Russian Foreign ministry said on Friday Moscow would respond to the entry of a U.S. naval ship into the Black Sea with unspecified measures, the RIA news agency reported.

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Kazakh forces kill five linked to suspected Islamist attack

ALMATY (Reuters) - Kazakh security forces killed five suspected militants on Friday linked to deadly attacks this week on a national guard base and several firearms shops in the city of Aktobe, the National Security Committee (KNB) said.

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Russia says Al Nusra shelling military, civilian areas in Aleppo

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Al Nusra militants are carrying out mortar attacks on positions held by the Syrian Army and Kurdish militia as well as civilian areas in Aleppo, RIA news agency cited the Russian ceasefire monitoring center in Syria as saying on Friday.

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After deadly Tel Aviv attack, Israel suspends Palestinian permits

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The Israeli military on Thursday revoked permits for 83,000 Palestinians to visit Israel and said it would send hundreds more troops to the occupied West Bank after a Palestinian gun attack that killed four Israelis in Tel Aviv.

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Exclusive: Obama approves broader role for U.S. forces in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama has approved giving the U.S. military greater ability to accompany and enable Afghan forces battling a resilient Taliban insurgency, in a move to assist them more proactively on the battlefield, a U.S. official told Reuters.

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Peru's Kuczynski beats Fujimori in full tally of countable votes

LIMA (Reuters) - Peru's electoral office ONPE said on Thursday that Pedro Pablo Kuczynski won 41,438 more votes than Keiko Fujimori in the country's cliffhanger presidential election, though thousands of unclear votes must still be settled by electoral panels.

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Taliban gains in Afghanistan threaten costly U.S. reconstruction effort: watchdog

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has wasted billions of dollars in reconstruction aid to Afghanistan over the past decade, and now a renewed Taliban insurgency is threatening the gains that have been made, the U.S government’s top watchdog on Afghanistan said.

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3,000 migrants rescued off Italian coast; two bodies found

ROME (Reuters) - More than 3,000 boat migrants have been rescued in the Mediterranean over the past two days and two bodies have been recovered, Italy's coastguard said on Thursday.

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Libyan forces fight Islamic State in Sirte, predict they will seize city soon

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Forces aligned with Libya's unity government were engaged in fierce clashes with Islamic State on Thursday in the group's stronghold of Sirte, but were facing resistance from snipers as they edged toward the city center.

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More than 22 killed, 70 wounded, in two bombings in Baghdad: police

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - More than 22 people were killed and 70 wounded in two separate bombings on Thursday in Baghdad, one targeting a commercial street and the other an army checkpoint, Iraqi police said.

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Japan protests after Chinese navy ship sails near disputed islands

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan summoned the Chinese ambassador in Tokyo early on Thursday to express concern after a Chinese navy ship sailed close to what Japan considers its territorial waters in the East China Sea for the first time, the Foreign Ministry said.

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Islamic State loses ground on fronts in Syria, Iraq

BEIRUT/BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State's far-flung enemies in Syria and Iraq pressed ahead on Wednesday with major advances on multiple fronts that have put some of the greatest pressure on the ultra-hardline Islamists since they declared their caliphate two years ago.

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Libyan brigades edge closer to Islamic State stronghold of Sirte: security sources

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Forces aligned with Libya's new unity government advanced on the eastern and southern outskirts of the Islamic State stronghold of Sirte on Wednesday, taking control of at least one military camp, security sources said.

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A year on, Turkey's Kurdish opposition fights for survival in parliament

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - A year after Turkey's pro-Kurdish opposition entered parliament as a party for the first time, to great fanfare about a maturing of Turkish democracy, its embattled leader is struggling to save it from banishment to the political wilderness.

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Iraqi forces say making progress vs Islamic State inside Falluja

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi forces said on Wednesday they had begun to make progress against Islamic State inside a built-up district of Falluja, the militants' stronghold to the west of Baghdad.

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PKK carried out car bomb which killed three in Turkey's southeast: PM

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Three people including a police officer were killed in a car bomb attack carried out by Kurdish militants in Turkey's southeastern town of Midyat, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Wednesday.

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Russia deploys troops westward as standoff with NATO deepens

KLINTSY, Russia (Reuters) - Russia is building an army base near its border with Ukraine, the latest in a chain of new military sites along what the Kremlin sees as its frontline in a growing confrontation with NATO.

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China fighter jet made 'unsafe' intercept of U.S. spy plane: U.S.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Chinese fighter jet carried out an "unsafe" intercept of a U.S. spy plane in international airspace over the East China Sea, two U.S. defense officials said on Tuesday.

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Scandals in new Brazil government offer Rousseff hope of survival

BRASILIA (Reuters) - A wave of scandals buffeting Brazil's interim government is weakening the resolve of some senators to oust suspended President Dilma Rousseff, offering the leftist leader hope of surviving an impeachment trial in the upper house.

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Exclusive: North Korea restarts plutonium production for nuclear bombs - U.S. official

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea has restarted production of plutonium fuel, a senior State Department official said on Tuesday, showing that it plans to pursue its nuclear weapons program in defiance of international sanctions.

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Syria holding up food aid, U.N. asks for airlift approval

GENEVA/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations is still waiting for Syrian government agreement for an aid convoy to enter the besieged town of Daraya and has requested approval to airlift food into four locations if land routes are unavailable, U.N. officials said on Tuesday.

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Migrants linked to 69,000 would-be or actual crimes in Germany in first three months of 2016: police

BERLIN (Reuters) - Migrants in Germany committed or tried to commit some 69,000 crimes in the first quarter of 2016, according to a police report that could raise unease, especially among anti-immigrant groups, about Chancellor Angela Merkel's liberal migrant policy.

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Car bomb targeting police kills 11, wounds 36 in Istanbul

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A car bomb ripped through a police bus in central Istanbul during the morning rush hour on Tuesday, killing 11 people and wounding 36 near the main tourist district, a major university and the mayor's office.

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Car bomb kills at least five, wounds 10 in Iraq's Kerbala: security officer

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least five people were killed and 10 others wounded on Tuesday when a car blew up in the Shi'ite holy city of Kerbala south of Baghdad, an Iraqi security officer said.

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Falluja refugees say Islamic State uses food to enlist fighters

GARMA, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqis who fled Islamic State-held Falluja as government and allied forces advanced on the city said they had survived on stale dates and the militants were using food to enlist fighters whose relatives were going hungry.

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Syrian army, U.S.-backed forces advance separately against Islamic State

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian government troops backed by Russian air power moved to within 25 km (15 miles) of an Islamic State-held town in Raqqa province on Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, as state media reported air strikes against the jihadists in the area.

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China tells U.S. to play constructive South China Sea role

BEIJING (Reuters) - China told the United States on Tuesday that it should play a constructive role in safeguarding peace in the disputed South China Sea, as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called for talks and a peaceful resolution.

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Three Jordanian intelligence officers killed in attack in Palestinian camp

AMMAN (Reuters) - Three Jordanian intelligence officers and two other security personnel were killed in an attack on their security office in a Palestinian refugee camp outside the Jordanian capital, Amman, and one suspect was arrested, officials said on Monday, saying it appeared to be an "individual and isolated act."

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Mexico ruling party routed in regional vote on graft, gang violence

XALAPA, Mexico (Reuters) - Mexico's ruling party lost several bastions in Sunday's regional elections to the center-right opposition, dealing a heavy blow to President Enrique Pena Nieto for failing to crack down on corruption and gang violence.

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U.N. removes Saudi-led Yemen coalition from child rights blacklist

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations said on Monday it had removed the Saudi Arabia-led coalition fighting in Yemen from a child rights blacklist pending a joint review by the world body and the coalition of the cases of child deaths and injuries.

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Exclusive: U.S. wants sanctions on Congo leaders, Europe not so sure

KINSHASA/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Concerned over Congolese President Joseph Kabila's apparent attempts to cling to power, U.S. officials are pushing for sanctions against his inner circle but running into opposition from European powers wary of moving too quickly.

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Venezuelan woman shot dead during latest looting

SAN CRISTOBAL, Venezuela (Reuters) - A Venezuelan woman died on Monday after being shot in the face when looters raided state food warehouses in the latest unrest in the crisis-hit OPEC nation, her family said.

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Peru's Kuczynski barely leads Fujimori in presidential election

LIMA (Reuters) - Former Wall Street executive Pedro Pablo Kuczynski held a razor-thin lead over Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of an imprisoned former authoritarian leader in a vote that was shaping up to be Peru's closest presidential election in at least three decades.

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North Korea apparently reopened plant to produce plutonium: IAEA

VIENNA (Reuters) - North Korea appears to have reopened a plant to produce plutonium from spent fuel of a reactor central to its atomic weapons drive, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Monday, suggesting the country's arms effort is widening.

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China rebuffs Taiwan president's offer on democracy

BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Monday rejected an offer by Taiwan's new president to share the island's experience of democracy, saying it was confident of the path it had chosen.

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U.S.-backed force says Islamic State fleeing Syrian city

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Islamic State fighters have been leaving the Syrian city of Manbij with their families as U.S.-backed groups advance to within 6 km (4 miles) in an attack that has killed more than 150 jihadists, a spokesman for the U.S.-backed forces said on Monday.

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Taiwan says won't recognize Chinese air defense zone over South China Sea

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's new defense minister said on Monday the island would not recognize any air defense zone declared by China over the South China Sea, as the island's top security agency warned such a move could usher in a wave of regional tension.

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Shi'ite militia leader voices dismay at Falluja war operations: TV

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The leader of the largest Iraqi Shi'ite paramilitary group has criticized a lack of "precise planning" in war operations to capture Falluja, the stronghold of Islamic State near Baghdad.

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Money from Afghanistan's 'conflict jewels' fuels war: activists

KABUL (Reuters) - The illegal mining of some of Afghanistan's most important minerals is funneling millions of dollars into the hands of insurgents and corrupt warlords, according to activists and officials who say the money is fuelling the conflict.

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American journalist, translator killed in Afghanistan

LASHKAR GAH/KABUL, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A veteran American photojournalist and a translator working for NPR were killed while accompanying Afghan troops in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, NPR and military officials said.

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Saudi reform plan approved by government's top economic council

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's Council for Economic and Development Affairs (CEDA) has approved the national transformation plan overseen by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and will pass it to the cabinet on Monday for approval, a senior Saudi source said.

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Swiss voters reject 'money for nothing' income plan

ZURICH/BERN (Reuters) - Swiss voters rejected by a wide margin on Sunday a proposal to introduce a guaranteed basic income for everyone living in the wealthy country after an uneasy debate about the future of work at a time of increasing automation.

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Iraqi civilians drown fleeing Falluja as city nearly encircled

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Fighters battling to retake Falluja from Islamic State said on Sunday they had the Iraqi city almost completely encircled, as civilians risked their lives trying to flee.

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Diplomatic tag as countries find new ways of standing up to China

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - When U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter spoke at a key Asian summit at the weekend, he used the word "principled" 38 times, floating his vision of a U.S.-backed "security network" of countries in the region.

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In pushback to U.S., China says 'has no fear of trouble' in South China Sea

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - China rebuffed U.S. pressure to curb its activity in the South China Sea on Sunday, restating its sovereignty over most of the disputed territory and saying it "has no fear of trouble".

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Saudi Arabia expands its anti-Iran strategy beyond the Middle East

RIYADH (Reuters) - Under King Salman, Saudi Arabia is expanding its confrontation with Iran well beyond the Middle East, no longer relying heavily on Western allies to smother Tehran's ambitions outside the Arab world.

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Turkish warplanes target Kurdish militants, at least 27 killed: army

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish warplanes struck Kurdish militant targets in northern Iraq and southeast Turkey and the army killed 27 fighters near its borders with Iraq and Iran, the armed forces said on Sunday.

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Kerry hails Mongolia as 'oasis of democracy' in tough neighborhood

ULAANBAATAR (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry hailed Mongolia as an "oasis of democracy" sitting in a tough location between Russia and China as he made a rare visit by a cabinet-level U.S. official on Sunday.

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Kerry warns China over air defense zone for South China Sea

ULAANBAATAR (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday the United States would consider any Chinese establishment of an air defense zone over the South China Sea to be a "provocative and destabilizing act".

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UK 'Remain' camp's lead narrows before EU referendum: Opinium

LONDON (Reuters) - The campaign to stop Britain voting to leave the European Union in a June 23 referendum has seen its lead shrink over the past two weeks, an online poll published by market research company Opinium showed on Saturday.

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Boko Haram attack in southeastern Niger kills 32 soldiers

NIAMEY (Reuters) - Thirty soldiers from Niger and two from Nigeria were killed in a Boko Haram attack by "hundreds of assailants" on Friday on the southeastern town of Bosso close to the border with Nigeria, the Niger defense ministry said on Saturday.

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Venezuela's Maduro entreats Latin America not to isolate him

HAVANA (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called upon Latin America on Saturday not to give in to "brutal pressure" from the United States to isolate his government, which is battling intensifying opposition at home and abroad.

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Cuba's Castros are clearly robust, Raul quips after 85th birthday

HAVANA (Reuters) - The day after his 85th birthday, Cuba's President Raul Castro quipped that the Castros were clearly "robust and long-lived" and he could easily manage several more five-year terms although he would stick to his promise to step down in 2018.

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Shi'ite militia says it will storm Iraq's Falluja when families leave

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - An Iranian-backed Sh'ite Iraqi militia said on Saturday it planned to storm Falluja, Islamic State's stronghold near Baghdad, once civilians left the city, backtracking on earlier statements that it would leave this task to the Iraqi army.

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Syrian army presses offensive against Islamic State

AMMAN (Reuters) - The Syrian army has crossed the boundary of Raqqa province, home to the de facto capital of Islamic State, after a major Russian-backed offensive against the militants, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Saturday.

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Six killed, 15 wounded in suicide bombing north of Baghdad: police, medics

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Six people were killed, including four soldiers, and 15 were wounded on Saturday when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest near an army checkpoint in Tarmiya, a town just north of Baghdad, police and medical sources said.

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Democracy is nothing to fear, Taiwan tells China on Tiananmen anniversary

TAIPEI (Reuters) - On the anniversary of China's bloody crackdown on student-led protests in and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square, Taiwan's new president told China on Saturday that democracy is nothing to fear.

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Exclusive: U.S. falters in campaign to revive Iraqi army, officials say

(Reuters) - A 17-month U.S. effort to retrain and reunify Iraq's regular army has failed to create a large number of effective Iraqi combat units or limit the power of sectarian militias, according to current and former U.S. military and civilian officials.

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Carter urges China to join 'principled security network' for Asia

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter urged China on Saturday to join a "principled security network" for Asia, saying that the United States would remain the world's most powerful military and the main guarantor of regional security for decades to come.

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U.S. air strikes in Yemen kill 15 al Qaeda militants: Pentagon

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military on Friday disclosed that it carried out an air strike in Yemen in May, killing four al Qaeda militants, and also revealed three other strikes that had not been previously reported.

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U.S. jet strikes target Islamic State from Mediterranean

BERLIN (Reuters) - U.S. fighter jets on Friday launched strikes against Islamic State from an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean Sea, the U.S. Navy said, marking the first time a U.S. aircraft carrier targeted areas in the Middle East from the Mediterranean since the Iraq War began in 2003.

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Security campaign against Kurdish militants in Turkish border town completed: sources

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkish security forces called an end to operations in the town of Nusaybin near the Syrian border on Friday, security sources said, after nearly three months of often heavy clashes that left nearly 600 people dead.

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Israel 'engaging' with ICC over Gaza war crimes inquiry: prosecutor

GENEVA (Reuters) - Israel is holding discussions with the International Criminal Court over its investigation into possible war crimes in the 2014 Gaza conflict, the ICC's prosecutor said.

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Syrian army targets IS in Raqqa in new offensive: report

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian army aims to target Islamic State in Raqqa province, a pro-Damascus newspaper reported on Friday, in a new offensive focusing on areas that a U.S.-backed alliance is also aiming to capture from the jihadists.

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Iran's Khamenei says U.S., 'evil' Britain can't be trusted: state TV

ANKARA (Reuters) - Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Friday Tehran had no intention of cooperating on regional issues with its main enemies, the United States and "evil" Britain.

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Boy abandoned in Japan for being naughty found alive, unharmed

TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese boy abandoned in a dense forest by his parents for being naughty was found alive and unharmed on Friday, nearly a week after his disappearance set off a massive search that kept the nation riveted.

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'We want food!', Venezuelans cry at protest near presidency

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan security forces fired teargas at protesters chanting "We want food!" near Caracas' presidential palace on Thursday, the latest street violence in the crisis-hit OPEC nation.

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Dangerous migrant smuggling routes flourish in lawless Libya

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - After a flurry of boat departures that sent hundreds of migrants to their deaths in the Mediterranean, survivors told police they had been kept for weeks on one meal a day in holding houses near the Libyan shore.

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U.N. adds Saudi coalition to blacklist for killing children in Yemen

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon slammed the Saudi Arabia-led coalition fighting in Yemen for killing and maiming children by adding it to an annual blacklist of states and armed groups that violate children's rights during conflict.

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Germany triggers Turkish outcry with Armenian genocide vote

BERLIN/ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey recalled its ambassador to Germany on Thursday in protest against a parliament resolution declaring the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces a genocide at a time when Europe is looking for Ankara's help in the migrant crisis.

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Deadly bomb blast hits near Syrian coastal city Latakia: state tv, Al Manar

BEIRUT (Reuters) - A bomb blast hit near a mosque in the Syrian coastal city of Latakia on Thursday, killing and wounding a number of people, state television and Lebanese Hezbollah's Al Manar TV reported.

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Bodies of at least 25 migrants washed up in western Libya: Red Crescent

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - The bodies of at least 25 migrants who drowned trying to cross the Mediterranean have been washed up near the western Libyan city of Zuwara, a Red Crescent official said on Thursday.

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Iraq PM Abadi urges lawmakers to stop squabbling, rally behind army

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has appealed to politicians to "freeze" their wrangling over his anti-corruption reforms and unite behind the army as it battles Islamic State in Falluja, near Baghdad.

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Somalia ends operation to secure hotel bombed by al Shabaab

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali security forces have brought to an end a bomb and gun attack by militants on a central Mogadishu hotel that killed at least 16 people and wounded 55, authorities said on Thursday.

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China tells U.S., don't let allies set South China Sea policy

BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States should not decide its policy on the South China Sea based on what its allies think, and should stick to its promises not to take sides in the dispute, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Thursday ahead of Sino-U.S. security talks.

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South China Sea set to dominate Singapore security summit

SINGAPORE/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Roiling tensions in the South China Sea are set to dominate Asia's biggest security summit starting in Singapore on Friday, exposing a deepening rivalry between the United States and China ahead of a landmark legal ruling in the Hague.

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U.S. military sees Afghan talks with new Taliban leader unlikely

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. military spokesman said on Wednesday that talks with the Afghan Taliban on ending the war in Afghanistan are unlikely any time soon after the militant group chose a conservative religious scholar as its new leader.

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Venezuela says Americas bloc suspension threat is 'imperial' plot

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's socialist government said on Wednesday a move by the head of the Organization of American States (OAS) to censure the country for breaching democratic norms is an "imperialist" scheme to take the OPEC member's oil.

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Al Shabaab car bomber targets hotel in Somali capital, at least 10 dead

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A suicide car bomber crashed his vehicle into a gate outside a hotel frequented by lawmakers in the center of the Somali capital Mogadishu on Wednesday and the attack was followed by gunfire, killing at least 10 people, police said.

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U.S.-backed forces open major front in Syria war

WASHINGTON/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Thousands of U.S.-backed fighters opened a major new front in Syria's war, launching an offensive to drive Islamic State out of a swathe of northern Syria it uses as a logistics base, and were reported on Wednesday to be making rapid progress.

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Exclusive: U.S.-backed Syria forces launch offensive for Manbij pocket - U.S. officials

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Thousands of U.S.-backed fighters in Syria are launching an offensive to capture from Islamic State a crucial swathe of northern Syria known as the Manbij pocket following weeks of quiet preparations, U.S. officials disclosed to Reuters.

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China welcomes Manila's offer for South China Sea talks

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's said on Wednesday it welcomed a proposal by the incoming Philippine government for bilateral talks on the disputed South China Sea.

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French vessel detects signals likely from EgyptAir jet black box

CAIRO (Reuters) - A French naval search vessel has picked up signals believed to originate from one of the black boxes of EgyptAir flight MS804 which crashed into the Mediterranean last month, the Egyptian investigation committee said on Wednesday.

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