South Korea, U.S. begin large-scale annual drills amid North Korea tension

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean and U.S. troops began large-scale joint military exercise on Wednesday conducted annually to test their defense readiness against the threat from North Korea, which routinely characterizes the drills as preparation for war against it.

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Women charged with North Korean's murder leave court in bullet-proof vests

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia on Wednesday charged two women - an Indonesian and a Vietnamese - with murdering the estranged half brother of North Korea's leader in an assassination using a super-toxic nerve agent that killed in minutes.

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Trump: Yemen raid was success, gathered vital intelligence

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump insisted on Tuesday that a January raid in Yemen was a success and gathered vital intelligence against the al Qaeda affiliate there, despite questions raised about the effectiveness of the mission.

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New Trump immigration order will remove Iraq from list of banned countries: AP

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's new immigration order will remove Iraq from the list of countries whose citizens face a temporary U.S. travel ban, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed U.S. officials.

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Mexico says will not accept tariffs or quotas in U.S. trade talks

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico will not accept tariffs or quotas when renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement with the United States, the foreign minister said on Tuesday, the latest challenge to U.S. President Donald Trump's proposals to erect trade barriers.

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Trump intelligence nominee supports probes on Russian interference

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's nominee to be the director of national intelligence pledged on Tuesday to support thorough investigation of any Russian efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election, seeking to reassure lawmakers worried that partisan politics might interfere with a probe.

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Door knocks in the dark: The Canadian town on front line of Trump migrant crackdown

EMERSON, Manitoba (Reuters) - Jaime French was jarred out of bed in Emerson, Manitoba early one morning this month by pounding at her front door, just yards from the U.S. border. A face peered in through the window, flanked in the darkness by others.

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South Korea suggests North's suspension from U.N. over airport killing

GENEVA/KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - South Korea called for "collective measures" to punish North Korea for using chemical weapons to kill the estranged half-brother of its leader Kim Jong Un, as Malaysia said on Tuesday it would charge two women with murder over the airport attack.

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Putin says draft U.N. resolution to sanction Syria 'inappropriate'

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday a draft U.N. Security Council resolution put forward by Western powers to sanction Syria's government over the alleged use of chemical weapons was inappropriate.

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U.S.-backed Iraqi forces close in on IS-held Mosul government buildings

MOSUL/BAGHDAD, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S.-backed Iraqi forces on Tuesday battled their way to within firing range of Mosul's main government buildings, a major target in the offensive to dislodge Islamic State militants from their remaining stronghold in the western side of the city.

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Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister: relations with U.S. at lowest level since Cold War

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Relations between Russia and the United States are at the lowest level since the Cold War, the Interfax news agency reported on Tuesday, citing Sergei Ryabkov, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister.

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Sturgeon says UK PM May nudging Scotland towards second referendum

LONDON (Reuters) - The "sheer intransigence" of the British government over Brexit could lead to a second Scottish independence referendum, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Tuesday, warning time was running out for the country to change course.

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Malaysia to charge women for airport murder of North Korean

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Two women - an Indonesian and a Vietnamese - will be charged with murder on Wednesday over their alleged involvement in the killing of the estranged half-brother of North Korea's leader at Kuala Lumpur's main airport, Malaysia's attorney general said.

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China angrily reacts with threats after South Korean missile defense decision

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese state media has reacted with anger and threats of boycotts after the board of an affiliate of South Korea's Lotte Group approved a land swap with the government that will enable authorities to deploy a U.S. missile defense system.

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U.N. to vote Tuesday on Syria sanctions despite Russia veto pledge

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council is set to vote on Tuesday on a bid by Western powers to ban the supply of helicopters to the Syrian government and to blacklist Syrian military commanders over accusations of toxic gas attacks, despite a pledge by Russia to veto the move.

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U.S., Japan, South Korea explore ways to restrict Pyongyang weapons funding

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senior officials from the United States, South Korea and Japan discussed ways to further restrict funding for North Korea's weapons programs during talks in Washington on Monday, the countries said in a joint statement.

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Philippines condemns 'barbaric beheading' of German hostage

MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines on Monday condemned the "barbaric beheading" of a German captive by Islamic State-linked Abu Sayyaf militants, who posted a video of the killing after a deadline for a $600,000 ransom passed.

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Israel aircraft attack Hamas targets after rocket fired from Gaza

GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli aircraft carried out a series of strikes in Gaza on Monday, wounding two people, health officials and witnesses said, after a rocket fired from the Palestinian territory struck southern Israel.

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Turkey-backed Syrian rebels clash with army in north

BEIRUT/ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey-backed Syrian rebel groups clashed with government forces near a city in northern Syria that the rebels recently captured from Islamic State, sources on both sides said, the second such confrontation in the region this month.

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Indonesian police kill bomber, investigate for link to IS sympathizers

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian police killed a militant on Monday after he detonated a small bomb in the city of Bandung and authorities said they were investigating whether he had links to a radical network sympathetic to Islamic State.

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Killing of Kim Jong Nam organized by North Korean govt ministries: South Korea

SEOUL (Reuters) - The killing of the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was organized by the reclusive state's ministry of state security and foreign ministry, according to South Korean lawmakers briefed by the country's intelligence agency.

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North Korea spy agency runs arms operation out of Malaysia, U.N. says

(Reuters) - It is in Kuala Lumpur's "Little India" neighborhood, behind an unmarked door on the second floor of a rundown building, where a military equipment company called Glocom says it has its office.

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South Korea acting president declines to extend special prosecution probe

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's acting president Hwang Kyo-ahn will not extend the current special prosecutor's investigation into a graft scandal involving President Park Geun-hye beyond the Feb. 28 deadline, Hwang's office said on Monday.

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China's top diplomat to visit U.S. on Monday and Tuesday: Xinhua

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's top diplomat will visit the United States this week, the most senior Chinese official to do so since President Donald Trump took office on January 20, state news agency Xinhua said.

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Iraqi forces aim to secure Mosul bridge, link up to east bank

MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S.-backed Iraqi forces pushed deeper into western Mosul on Sunday, aiming to capture a bridge across the Tigris which would link the city's government-held eastern bank with the ongoing offensive against remaining militants in the west.

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Islamic State planning attacks in Britain: anti-terrorism lawyer

LONDON (Reuters) - Islamic State militants are planning "indiscriminate attacks on innocent civilians" in Britain on a scale similar to those staged by the Irish Republican Army 40 years ago, the head of the country's new terrorism watchdog said.

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Iran holds naval war games amid rising tensions with U.S.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran launched naval drills at the mouth of the Gulf and the Indian Ocean on Sunday, a naval commander said, as tensions with the United States escalated after U.S President Donald Trump put Tehran "on notice".

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Wary of Trump unpredictability, China ramps up naval abilities

BEIJING (Reuters) - The PLA Navy is likely to secure significant new funding in China's upcoming defense budget as Beijing seeks to check U.S. dominance of the high seas and step up its own projection of power around the globe.

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Malaysia declares airport safe for travel after nerve agent attack

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia on Sunday declared its international airport a "safe zone" after completing a sweep of the terminal where the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was assaulted with a deadly chemical last week.

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Australia, Indonesia restore full military ties, see progress on trade

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia and Indonesia said on Sunday that full military ties between the two countries had been restored, after Indonesia’s military suspended cooperation in January because of "insulting" teaching material found at an Australian base.

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Man drove into crowd in German town, injuring three people: police

BERLIN (Reuters) - A man drove into a group of people standing by a bakery in the southern German town of Heidelberg on Saturday, injuring three people, one of them seriously, police said in a statement.

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France's Hollande fires back at Trump over Paris comments

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande fired back at Donald Trump on Saturday after the U.S. president remarked in a speech that a friend thought "Paris is no longer Paris" after attacks by Islamist militants.

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Iran plans to buy Kazakh uranium ore, seek Russia help to make nuclear fuel

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran plans to buy 950 tonnes of uranium ore from Kazakhstan over three years and expects to get Russian help in producing nuclear fuel, its top nuclear official said in remarks published on Saturday.

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Malaysia to sweep airport for chemicals after Kim Jong Nam murder

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia plans to sweep one of the terminals at Kuala Lumpur international airport for toxic chemicals after Kim Jong Nam was murdered there with a nerve agent last week.

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Malaysia says will issue arrest warrant for North Korean diplomat in Kim Jong Nam murder

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia said on Saturday it would issue an arrest warrant for a North Korean diplomat wanted for questioning over the murder of Kim Jong Nam if he doesn't voluntarily cooperate with the police.

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Attack on Syrian security forces in Homs kills 42

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Militants attacked two Syrian security offices in the western city of Homs on Saturday with guns and suicide bombers, killing at least 42 people including a senior officer, a war monitor said.

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First planned North Korea-U.S. contact in Trump administration canceled: WSJ

SEOUL (Reuters) - Plans for the first contact between North Korea and the United States after President Donald Trump took office were canceled after the U.S. State Department denied a visa for the top envoy from Pyongyang, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

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In push to reclaim Raqqa, Trump's choices range from bad to worse

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's push against Islamic State in Syria could present him with an unenviable choice: Alienate NATO ally Turkey by relying on Kurdish fighters or adopt a plan that may slow the assault and require many more U.S. combat forces.

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Trump proposal for terrorist listing of Iran Revolutionary Guard in limbo: sources

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A proposal the Trump administration is considering to designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization has stalled over warnings from defense and intelligence officials that the move could backfire, according to officials familiar with the matter.

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One question at U.N. Syria talks: What does Russia want?

GENEVA (Reuters) - The first U.N.-led Syria peace talks in almost a year are in danger of getting lost in procedure, as officials obsess about who will meet whom, but behind the scenes diplomats say it's largely up to Russia to call the tune.

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Chemical weapon VX nerve agent killed N.Korean leader's half brother: Malaysian police

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - VX nerve agent, a chemical the United Nations classifies as a weapon of mass destruction, was used to kill the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in a bizarre murder in Malaysia last week, police said on Friday.

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Iraqi forces push into first districts of western Mosul

SOUTH OF MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S.-backed Iraqi security forces advanced deeper into the western half of Mosul on Friday one day after launching attacks on several fronts toward Islamic State's last main stronghold in the city.

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Car bomb on Turkey-backed Syrian rebels kills 41, mostly civilians: sources

ANKARA (Reuters) - An Islamic State car bomb on a security checkpoint controlled by Turkey-backed Syrian rebels in a village near Syria's al-Bab has killed 35 civilians and six rebels, sources in the region said on Friday.

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Suicide bomber kills at least eight soldiers in Yemen's Zinjibar

ADEN (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed at least eight soldiers in an attack on a military camp in Yemen's southern city of Zinjibar at dawn on Friday, a local official and residents said.

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Blast hits Turkey-backed Syrian rebels fighting Islamic State, monitor says

BEIRUT (Reuters) - A car bomb in a village near al-Bab in Syria struck Syrian rebels fighting Islamic State early on Friday, killing at least 29people and wounding dozens more, a war monitor said.

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Exclusive: Trump likes two-state solution, but says he will leave it up to Israelis, Palestinians

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he likes the concept of a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, expressing his preference on the issue for the first time since sparking international criticism for appearing to back away from the longstanding bedrock of Middle East policy.

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Malaysia says VX nerve agent was used in murder of Kim Jong Nam

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - The estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was killed with a highly toxic chemical weapon known as VX nerve agent, Malaysian police said on Friday, citing a preliminary report.

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Upset at Trump, Mexico voices 'worry and irritation' to U.S. envoys

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico on Thursday expressed "worry and irritation" about U.S. policies to two of President Donald Trump's top envoys, giving a chilly reply to the new administration's hard line on immigration, trade and security.

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Malaysia murder mystery breaks with North Korean assassin tradition

SEOUL (Reuters) - The bizarre assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's estranged half-brother marks a departure from the isolated country's repertoire of overseas operations, according to experts on its opaque ruling structures.

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Malaysia requests Interpol alert on four North Koreans over airport murder

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia has requested Interpol to put an alert out to apprehend four North Korean suspects in the murder of the estranged half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Malaysia's police chief said on Thursday.

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Pope suggests 'better to be atheist than hypocritical Catholic'

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis delivered another criticism of some members of his own Church on Thursday, suggesting it is better to be an atheist than one of "many" Catholics who he said lead a hypocritical double life.

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Syrian negotiators arrive for Geneva peace talks

GENEVA (Reuters) - Syrian negotiators arrived separately to meet U.N. mediator Staffan de Mistura in Geneva on Thursday in a low-key start to the first U.N.-led peace talks in almost a year.

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Iraqi security forces storm Mosul airport: state TV

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S.-backed Iraqi security forces closing in on the Islamic State-held western half of Mosul stormed the city's main airport and a nearby military base on Thursday, state television said.

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Deportation spat overshadows Trump envoys' talks with angry Mexico

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A bid by U.S. President Donald Trump to deport non-Mexican illegal migrants to Mexico that has enraged Mexicans will top the agenda when officials from both countries meet on Thursday amid a deepening rift between the two nations.

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Thousands mourn 'blind sheikh' convicted in 1993 World Trade Center bombing

Al-GAMALIYA, Egypt (Reuters) - Thousands of mourners gathered in a small Egyptian town on Wednesday for the funeral of the Muslim cleric known as "the blind sheikh" who was convicted of conspiracy in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York.

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Mexico fumes at 'hostile' Trump immigration rules as U.S. talks loom

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Senior envoys of U.S. President Donald Trump are likely to receive a chilly reception in Mexico on Wednesday, after the United States issued new immigration guidelines that deeply angered its southern neighbor the day before bilateral talks.

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Iran ready to give U.S. 'slap in the face': commander

DUBAI (Reuters) - The United States should expect a "strong slap in the face" if it underestimates Iran's defensive capabilities, a commander of the elite Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday, as Tehran concluded war games.

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Israel's Netanyahu praises Trump's condemnation of anti-Semitic acts

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised President Donald Trump on Wednesday for publicly condemning anti-Semitic acts after bomb threats to U.S. Jewish centers and vandalism in a Jewish cemetery.

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Exclusive: Russia asks energy companies for PR info ahead of election

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Russian government summoned energy companies last week to give it advance notice about developments that could influence public opinion in the period up to May next year, when President Vladimir Putin's term ends.

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Le Pen aides taken into French police custody

PARIS (Reuters) - French police detained far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen's bodyguard and chief of staff in custody on Wednesday for questioning over alleged misuse of European Union funds to pay parliamentary assistants, Le Pen's lawyer said.

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British suicide bomber in Iraq had won compensation for Guantanamo stay

LONDON/CAIRO (Reuters) - An Islamic State suicide bomber from Britain who blew himself up in an attack on Iraqi forces this week had been given compensation for his detention in the Guantanamo Bay military prison, Western security sources said on Wednesday.

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German police at school in Menden after report of armed man there

BERLIN (Reuters) - German police said on Wednesday that they had deployed forces to a school in the town of Menden near Dortmund, where a media report said there was an armed man.

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Malaysia names North Korean diplomat wanted for questioning in murder case

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian police on Wednesday named a North Korean diplomat along with a state airline official who are wanted for questioning over the murder of Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korea's leader.

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Ex-Hong Kong leader jailed in fall from "such a height"

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Former Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang was jailed for 20 months on Wednesday for misconduct in public office, making him the most senior city official to serve time behind bars in a ruling some said reaffirmed the financial hub's vaunted rule of law.

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Philippine minister doubtful of China row resolution 'during our lifetime'

MANILA (Reuters) - The foreign minister of the Philippines expressed doubt on Wednesday that a maritime sovereignty dispute with China could be resolved "during our lifetime", so it was better to set it aside, engage Beijing and avoid an armed confrontation.

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Exclusive: China finishing South China Sea buildings that could house missiles - U.S. officials

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China, in an early test of U.S. President Donald Trump, is nearly finished building almost two dozen structures on artificial islands in the South China Sea that appear designed to house long-range surface-to-air missiles, two U.S. officials told Reuters.

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Iraqi forces fighting Islamic State set to storm airport, clear way to western Mosul

SOUTH OF MOSUL, Iraq/BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S.-backed Iraqi forces closing in on the Islamic State-held western half of Mosul prepared on Tuesday to storm the airport and a nearby military base on its southern outskirts to create a bridgehead for a thrust into the city.

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Israeli soldier gets 18 months' jail for killing wounded Palestinian attacker

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - A young Israeli soldier who killed a wounded and incapacitated Palestinian assailant was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment on Tuesday, in a show of leniency that drew Palestinian outrage after one of the most divisive trials in Israel's history.

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Malaysia says still to establish what killed North Korean

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian authorities said on Tuesday they had still to establish what was used to kill the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and the body had not been formally identified as no next of kin have come forward.

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Exclusive: CIA-backed aid for Syrian rebels frozen after Islamist attack - sources

BEIRUT/AMMAN/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - CIA-coordinated military aid for rebels in northwest Syria has been frozen since they came under major Islamist attack last month, rebel sources said, raising doubts about foreign support key to their war against President Bashar al-Assad.

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French far-right's Le Pen refuses to wear headscarf to meet Lebanon's Grand Mufti

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Marine Le Pen, presidential candidate for France's far-right National Front party, canceled a meeting on Tuesday with Lebanon's Grand Mufti after refusing to wear a headscarf for the encounter.

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Explosion hits town in northwestern Pakistan: media

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - At least one explosion hit Pakistan's northwestern town of Charsadda on Tuesday, Pakistani television reported, but the cause and the extent of any casualties was not clear.

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Five die as light plane crashes into mall in Australia

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Five people were killed on Tuesday when a small plane crashed in to the roof of a shopping mall after taking off from an airfield outside Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city, police said.

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Trump opponents protest outside UK parliament as lawmakers debate planned visit

LONDON (Reuters) - Thousands of Donald Trump's opponents gathered outside the British parliament on Monday to protest against a planned state visit while lawmakers debated whether the new U.S. president should be given a lavish meeting with Queen Elizabeth.

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Russian envoy to UN, Vitaly Churkin, dies in New York: foreign ministry

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, has died in New York, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday.

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Norway pledges $10 million to counter Trump's global anti-abortion move

OSLO (Reuters) - Norway has joined an international initiative to raise millions of dollars to replace shortfalls left by U.S. President Donald Trump's ban on U.S.-funded groups worldwide providing information on abortion.

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Pence in Brussels, seeking 'deeper' ties with EU

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence told senior European Union officials in Brussels on Monday that the Trump administration was looking at ways to "deepen our relationship" with the EU.

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Turkish soldiers accused of Erdogan assassination attempt go on trial

MUGLA, Turkey (Reuters) - The trial of more than 40 Turkish soldiers accused of attempting to assassinate President Tayyip Erdogan during last year's failed coup started on Monday, with prosecutors seeking life sentences, according to the indictment obtained by Reuters.

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Iraqi forces battle their way toward Mosul airport

SOUTH OF MOSUL/BAGHDAD, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S.-backed Iraqi forces fought Islamic State fighters on Monday to clear the way to Mosul's airport, on the second day of a ground offensive on the jihadists' remaining stronghold in the western side of the city.

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Trump's defense chief tells Iraq: We're not here for your oil

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. military is not in Iraq "to seize anybody's oil", Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said, distancing himself from remarks by President Donald Trump before arriving on an unannounced visit to Baghdad on Monday.

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Malaysia summons North Korean ambassador, recalls envoy from Pyongyang

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's foreign ministry summoned North Korea's ambassador on Monday over allegations he had made over the Southeast Asian country's handling of the investigation into the murder in Kuala Lumpur of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's half-brother.

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Exit polls see Ecuador leftist ahead, runoff unclear

QUITO (Reuters) - Ecuadorean exit polls put ruling party leftist Lenin Moreno clearly ahead in Sunday's presidential election, although it was unclear whether he had enough votes to avoid an April runoff against conservative ex-banker Guillermo Lasso.

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Trump comment about immigration 'problems' baffles Sweden

STOCKHOLM/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's suggestion that Sweden experienced an immigration-related security incident prompted a baffled response from the Scandinavian country on Sunday as diplomats asked for an explanation and citizens responded with amusement.

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Suicide bomb in market in Somalia capital kills 39

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A car bomb ripped through a market in Mogadishu on Sunday, killing 39 people and injuring around 50, a local official said, days after Somalia elected a new president.

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Iraq launches offensive on last Islamic State stronghold in Mosul

BAGHDAD/SOUTH OF MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S.-backed Iraqi forces on Sunday launched a ground offensive to dislodge Islamic State militants from their remaining stronghold in Mosul, in the western part of the city, and put an end to their ambitions for territorial rule in Iraq.

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Syrian government forces press attack on Damascus outskirts: monitors, medic

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian government forces fired rockets at a rebel-held area on Damascus's outskirts on Sunday, pressing an attack that began the day before and has killed up to 16 people, a medical worker and war monitors said.

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Malaysia searching for four North Korean suspects in Kim Jong Nam murder

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian police said on Sunday that four North Korean suspects in the murder of the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un fled Malaysia on the day of the killing.

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China says understands South Korean need for security, still opposes missiles

BEIJING (Reuters) - China understands South Korea's need to protect its security but Seoul still needs to respect Beijing's concerns about the deployment of an advanced U.S. anti-missile system, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his South Korean counterpart.

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UK officials think Russia behind Montenegro plot: Sunday Telegraph

LONDON (Reuters) - British officials believe Russian authorities were behind a plot in October to kill Montenegro's pro-Western prime minister, the Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported, citing senior British government sources.

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U.S. carrier group patrols in South China Sea: U.S. navy

(Reuters) - A United States aircraft carrier strike group has begun patrols in the South China Sea, the U.S. navy said on Saturday, amid renewed tension over the disputed waterway.

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Iraqi planes drop leaflets on west Mosul to say offensive is imminent

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The Iraqi air force has dropped millions of leaflets on the western side of Mosul telling the population that a ground offensive to dislodge Islamic State from their neighborhoods is imminent, the Defence Ministry said on Saturday.

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Powers push for ceasefire, weapons withdrawal in eastern Ukraine from Monday

MUNICH (Reuters) - Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine agreed on Saturday to use their influence to implement a ceasefire and the withdrawal of heavy weapons from Monday in eastern Ukraine.

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Trade Center bomber Omar Abdel-Rahman dies in prison in U.S., says son

CAIRO (Reuters) - Omar Abdel-Rahman, convicted of the bombing of the World Trade Center in New York in 1993, has died in prison in the United States, his son Ammar told Reuters on Saturday.

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Russia wants pragmatic relations with U.S., says Lavrov

MUNICH (Reuters) - Russia wants to build pragmatic relations with the United States based on mutual respect, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday.

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U.S. coalition says Islamic State command center destroyed in Mosul; IS says civilians killed

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S.-led military coalition on Saturday said its forces destroyed a building in the main medical complex of western Mosul, suspected to house an Islamic State command center.

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Merkel calls for joint efforts with Russia to battle Islamist terrorism

MUNICH (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday said Europe's ties with Russia remained challenging, but it was important to work with Russia in the fight against Islamist terrorism.

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Turkey detains 26 people after car bomb, governor says PKK responsible

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish authorities detained 26 people over a car bomb attack in the southeastern town of Viransehir, the provincial governor's office said on Saturday.

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Car bomb in Turkey's southeast kills three-year-old, wounds 15: Anadolu

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A three-year-old was killed and fifteen people were wounded on Friday by a car bomb in a southeastern Turkish town, provincial governor Gungor Azim Tuna was quoted as saying by state-run Anadolu news agency.

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China says common interests outweigh differences with U.S.

BEIJING (Reuters) - The common interests between China and the United States far outweigh their differences, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi told U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Friday in their first face-to-face meeting since Tillerson took up his job.

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North Korea will reject Malaysian autopsy report on North Korean: envoy

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - North Korea said it would "categorically reject" the post mortem conducted by Malaysia on one of its citizens who died in Kuala Lumpur this week, and demanded the body be released immediately.

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Under police probe, Israel's Netanyahu leaves helm of communications ministry

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday he would shelve his additional role as communication minister after police questioned him over allegations he negotiated a deal for good press coverage with a newspaper owner.

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Turkey says almost taken Syria's Bab, war monitor cites heavy toll

ANKARA/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Turkey's military said on Friday it was close to taking Syria's al-Bab from Islamic State, but a war monitor said the jihadists still controlled 90 percent of the town itself and that shelling and air strikes had killed dozens of civilians in recent days.

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China wraps up exercise with three warships in South China Sea

BEIJING (Reuters) - Three Chinese warships on Friday wrapped up a week of scheduled training exercises in the South China Sea, state media said, shortly after China's sole aircraft carrier tested its weapons in the disputed region.

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Wailing, anger at Sufi shrine in Pakistan after bomber kills 77

SEHWAN SHARIF, Pakistan (Reuters) - Wailing Sufi devotees thronged a blood-stained shrine in southern Pakistan on Friday, shouting at police a day after a suicide bomber killed at least 77 people in an attack claimed by a regional branch of Islamic State.

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After drug war contracting boom, Mexican prisons stand idle

PAPANTLA, Mexico (Reuters) - Guards at one of Mexico's high security prisons have to worry much more about criminals breaking in than busting out.

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Pence heads to Europe on reassurance tour

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence will seek on Saturday to soothe allies unnerved by his boss' unorthodox statements on Russia and NATO as he stresses America's commitment to Europe during the first major foreign address for the Trump administration.

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Suicide attack on Pakistani shrine kills 72, claimed by Islamic State

KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomber attacked a crowded Sufi shrine in southern Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least 72 people and wounding dozens more in the deadliest of a wave of bombings across the South Asian nation this week.

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Russian foreign minister meets with Tillerson, denies interfering

BONN, Germany (Reuters) - Russia does not interfere in other countries' interior affairs, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday at the start of his first meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

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Putin says Russian, U.S. intelligence agencies should restore ties

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday it was in the interests of both Russia and the United States to restore communications between their respective intelligence agencies.

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Netanyahu's far-right allies hail U.S. shift on 'two states'

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right political allies hailed on Thursday a shift in U.S. support for a Palestinian state and shrugged off a call by President Donald Trump to curb Israeli settlements on occupied land.

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Attack hits mourners in Yemen, killing eight women, one child: residents

SANAA (Reuters) - Warplanes of the Saudi-led coalition struck a house north of Yemen's capital on Wednesday where mourners had gathered to offer condolences after a woman died, residents said, killing eight women and one child and injuring ten others.

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Syria's Assad says Trump travel ban "not against Syrian people"

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria's President Assad said that U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to ban Syrian nationals from entering the United States were "not against the Syrian people", in an interview with French broadcasters that aired on Thursday.

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Malaysia arrests second woman in suspected assassination of North Korean leader's half-brother

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia has detained a second woman suspected in the apparent assassination of the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, state news agency Bernama reported on Thursday, citing the inspector general of police.

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Malaysia detains second suspect in connection with murder of Kim Jong Nam: Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia has detained a second woman in connection with the murder of Kim Jong Nam, the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, state news agency Bernama reported on Thursday, citing the inspector general of police.

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Thai forces besiege temple in standoff over monk

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai forces surrounded the country's biggest Buddhist temple on Thursday and the junta leader declared he was imposing control after it failed to hand over an influential monk wanted for money laundering.

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Pence's mission in Europe: clarify Trump's foreign policy vision

WASHINGTON/BERLIN (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence heads to Europe this week to meet with allies seeking clarity on the Trump administration's foreign policy strategy and its stance toward Russia after the resignation of the top White House national security aide.

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Mosul bombings temper residents' relief at Islamic State pushback

MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - The first blast, down the street from his uncle's restaurant in eastern Mosul, sent Mohammed Badr racing towards the door to check the situation. The second one, moments later at the entrance of the restaurant itself, knocked him off his feet.

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U.S. warns NATO - increase spending or we might 'moderate' support

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's defense secretary warned NATO allies on Wednesday that they must honor military spending pledges to ensure the United States does not "moderate" support for the alliance.

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Malaysia detains woman, seeks others in connection with North Korean's death

SEOUL/KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian police on Wednesday detained a woman holding Vietnam travel papers and said they were looking for a "few" other foreign suspects in connection with the apparent assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's estranged half-brother.

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Syrian opposition wants Geneva talks on political transition

BEIRUT/ROME (Reuters) - The main Syrian opposition body said on Wednesday it wanted face-to-face negotiations with the Damascus government about a political transition at peace talks that are due to begin in Geneva next week.

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Kremlin denies allegations it violated U.S. missile treaty

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia is committed to honoring its international obligations, including in relation to missiles, the Kremlin said on Wednesday, responding to reports it had violated a treaty with the United States by deploying a new ground-based missile.

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Russian foreign ministry says Crimea will not be returned to Ukraine

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will not hand back control of Crimea to Ukraine, Russia's foreign ministry said on Wednesday, responding to comments from the White House that the United States expected the Black Sea peninsula to be returned.

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Trump welcomes Israel's Netanyahu for Middle East talks

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Wednesday, their first meeting since the inauguration and one that promises to shape the contours of Middle East policy for the years ahead.

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U.S. believes Russia deployed new missile in treaty violation

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russia has deployed a new cruise missile despite complaints by U.S. officials that it violates an arms control treaty banning ground-based U.S. and Russian intermediate-range missiles, a senior Trump administration official said on Tuesday.

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Trump backs Middle East peace, even if not tied to two-state solution

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump supports the goal of peace between Israel and the Palestinians, even if it does not involve the two-state solution, a senior White House official said on Tuesday.

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Duterte targets Philippine children in bid to widen drug war

MANILA (Reuters) - Before Rodrigo Duterte's bloody war on drugs had even begun, allies of the Philippines president were quietly preparing for a wider offensive. On June 30, as Duterte was sworn in, they introduced a bill into the Philippine Congress that could allow children as young as nine to be targeted in a crackdown that has since claimed more than 7,600 lives.

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U.N., Trump denounce North Korea, but no sign of any action

UNITED NATIONS/SEOUL (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council denounced North Korea's weekend missile launch, urging members to "redouble efforts" to enforce sanctions against the reclusive state, but gave no indications of any action it might take.

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South Korean prosecution again seeks arrest of Samsung chief

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's special prosecutor's office said on Tuesday it would again seek a warrant to arrest Samsung Group chief Jay Y. Lee, a suspect in a graft investigation that may topple President Park Geun-hye.

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Dozens killed in fighting among jihadists in Syria

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Dozens of fighters have been killed in two days of fighting between rival jihadist factions in northwestern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Tuesday.

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Israeli PM seeks 'no gaps' with Trump ahead of White House talks

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, preparing for his first meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House, will work with advisers on Tuesday to align Israeli and U.S. thinking on the Middle East and ensure "no gaps" remain.

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Syrian government forces used chemical weapons in Aleppo: rights group

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Syrian government forces used chemical weapons in opposition-controlled parts of Aleppo during battles to retake the city late last year, Human Rights Watch said in a report published on Monday.

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Germany to deepen military ties with France, others: sources

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany will move forward this week with plans to set up a joint fleet of Lockheed Martin Corp C-130J transport planes with France and join a Netherlands-led fleet of Airbus A330 tanker planes, defense ministry sources said on Monday.

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Tour bus crashes in Taiwan, at least 32 dead

TAIPEI (Reuters) - At least 32 people were killed when a tour bus crashed on a highway near Taipei on Monday night, with Taiwanese television footage showing the bus careening toward a road barrier at a highway curve before flipping on its side.

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Islamic State leadership targeted in air strike, Baghdadi fate unclear: Iraqi military

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The Iraqi airforce carried out a strike on a house where Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was thought to be meeting other commanders, the Iraqi military said on Monday, without making clear whether he had been hit.

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Analysis: Baghdad's bloody protests mark resumption of Shi'ite power struggle

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Bloody protests in Baghdad over the weekend by followers of influential cleric Moqtada al-Sadr signal the resumption of a power struggle between Iraq's Shi'ite leaders which had been put on hold to focus on the war against Islamic State.

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Blast kills at least 10 in Pakistani city of Lahore

LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) - An explosion near the provincial assembly in the Pakistani city of Lahore killed at least 10 people and wounded dozens on Monday, local media reported.

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Jihadist rebel groups clash in northwest Syria: monitor

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian jihadists seen as close to Islamic State battled a rival hardline Islamist faction on Monday in northwestern Syria, a war monitor and an official with another insurgent group said.

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Netanyahu opposes Palestinian state, Israeli minister says ahead of U.S. visit

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Benjamin Netanyahu opposes a Palestinian state, a senior Israeli cabinet member said on Monday, but left it unclear whether the prime minister would say that publicly in talks with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington this week.

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Turkey's Erdogan condemns Israel's settlement push as provocation

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Monday condemned Israel's decision to ramp up settlements in the West Bank as an "absolute provocation".

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Rights group says Pakistan has 'forced' mass Afghan refugee returns

KABUL (Reuters) - The number of Afghan refugees returning from Pakistan, already at the highest level in years, may increase this year if Pakistan maintains its forceful policies, Human Rights Watch said on Monday.

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China upset at disputed islands mention in Japan-U.S. meeting

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Foreign Ministry expressed concern on Monday after Japan got continued U.S. backing for its dispute with Beijing over islands in the East China Sea during a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

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Russia's Lavrov, U.S. Tillerson may meet in Germany, discuss Syria: Interfax

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson may meet in Germany and discuss Syria, Interfax news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov as saying on Monday.

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Few good options in Trump arsenal to counter defiant North Korea

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Despite his campaign vows to take a tougher line with North Korea, President Donald Trump's restrained public reaction to Pyongyang's first ballistic missile launch on his watch underscores that he has few good options to curb its missile and nuclear programs.

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North Korea says test of new nuclear-capable missile a success

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said on Monday it had successfully test-fired a new type of medium-to-long-range ballistic missile on Sunday, claiming further advancement in a weapons program it is pursuing in violation of United Nations resolutions.

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Marchers across Mexico vent anger over Trump, and their own president

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters in more than a dozen Mexican cities took to the streets on Sunday to express their fierce opposition to U.S. President Donald Trump, portraying the new leader as a menace to both America and Mexico.

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White House official attacks court after legal setbacks on immigration

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A White House official on Sunday criticized a U.S. court ruling that blocked President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration as a "judicial usurpation of power" and said the administration is considering a range of options, including a new order.

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Syrian opposition picks delegation to Geneva talks

AMMAN (Reuters) - Syria's main opposition body on Sunday approved a new delegation to take part in Geneva peace talks later this month, which include Russian-backed blocs that have been critical of the armed insurgency against President Bashar al-Assad.

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Steinmeier elected German president

BERLIN (Reuters) - Former foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was elected Germany's president on Sunday, the 12th person to hold the largely ceremonial post in the post-war era.

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U.S. will strengthen Pacific allies against North Korea hostility: official

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is committed to the security of its allies in the Pacific region and will bolster its allies there against any hostile actions from North Korea, a White House official said on Sunday.

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Netanyahu pledges to promote 'responsible policies' at Trump meeting

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he would present "responsible policies" in talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, signaling to the Israeli far-right to curb its territorial demands in the occupied West Bank.

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IMF's Lagarde says worried about European elections

DUBAI (Reuters) - International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Sunday that she was worried about the result of looming elections in Europe, though she insisted the euro zone was making progress in resolving its economic problems.

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Indonesians to vote in local polls with eye on presidency

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Tens of millions of Indonesians head to the polls on Wednesday in local elections across the Muslim-majority country, with bitter feuding over the powerful post of Jakarta governor stoking political and religious tensions.

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Peru says U.S. is not planning to detain wanted ex-president

LIMA/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Peru has been informed by U.S. authorities that they are not planning to keep former Peru President Alejandro Toledo, who is wanted in connection with a corruption probe, from boarding a flight to Israel from California in the coming hours, a source in Peru's Interior Ministry said on Saturday.

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Trump and Japan's Abe take a swing at golf diplomacy

JUPITER, Florida (Reuters) - President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hit the links on Saturday, as the two leaders looked to forge a bond over a round of golf diplomacy.

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North Korea fires unidentified missile: Yonhap quoting South Korea military

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea fired an unidentified type of ballistic missile on Sunday, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported, quoting the country's military.

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Iran says holds eight foreigners planning attacks

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian security forces have arrested eight hardline Sunni Islamists suspected of planning attacks to disrupt celebrations for Iran's Islamic revolution in the past week, Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said on Saturday.

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China gets an early win off Trump, but many battles remain

BEIJING (Reuters) - Combining public bluster with behind-the-scenes diplomacy, China wrested a concession from the United States as the two presidents spoke for the first time this week, but Beijing may not be able to derive much comfort from the win on U.S. policy toward Taiwan.

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Greece says will not accept 'illogical' demands in bailout review

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Saturday he believed the country's drawn-out bailout review would be completed positively but said Athens would not accept "illogical" demands by its lenders.

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China expels 32 South Korea missionaries amid missile defense tension

SEOUL (Reuters) - China has expelled 32 South Korean Christian missionaries, a Korean government official said on Saturday, amid diplomatic tension between the two countries over the planned deployment of a U.S. missile defense system in the South.

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U.S. expresses objection to Palestinian as U.N. envoy to Libya

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States objected on Friday to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' choice of former Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad as the body's new representative to Libya.

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Brazil threatens striking police with prosecution as death toll tops 120

VITORIA, Brazil (Reuters) - Authorities in the Brazilian state of Espirito Santo threatened striking police officers with criminal charges on Friday as the federal government sent in more troops in a bid to end a week of violent anarchy that has left more than 120 people dead.

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Putin says could meet Trump in Slovenia, but choice not Moscow's alone

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Ljubljana would be a good place for him to meet U.S. President Donald Trump, but that the decision about where to meet was not Moscow's alone.

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Russia halted Syrian army, rebel clash in northern Syria: sources

BEIRUT/ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Russia intervened to halt a clash between Syrian government forces and Turkey-backed Syrian rebels in northern Syria, sources on both sides said on Friday, the first confrontation between them as both sides fight Islamic State in the area.

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Kremlin says Turkey provided intel for 'friendly fire' strikes

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian air strikes that accidentally killed three Turkish soldiers in Syria were launched based on coordinates provided to Russia by the Turkish military, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

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Hundreds of thousands rally in Iran against Trump, chant "Death to America" - TV

ANKARA (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of Iranians rallied across Iran on Friday to swear allegiance to the clerical establishment following U.S. President Donald Trump's warning that he had put the Islamic Republic "on notice", state TV reported.

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Exclusive: In call with Putin, Trump denounced Obama-era nuclear arms treaty - sources

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In his first call as president with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump denounced a treaty that caps U.S. and Russian deployment of nuclear warheads as a bad deal for the United States, according to two U.S. officials and one former U.S. official with knowledge of the call.

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Trump, in phone call with China's Xi, agrees to honor 'One China' policy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to honor the United States' "One China" policy during a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the White House said on Thursday, as he took steps to improve ties after angering Beijing by talking to Taiwan's leader.

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Exclusive - Trump border 'wall' to cost $21.6 billion, take 3.5 years to build: internal report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s “wall” along the U.S.-Mexico border would be a series of fences and walls that would cost as much as $21.6 billion, and take more than three years to construct, based on a U.S. Department of Homeland Security internal report seen by Reuters on Thursday.

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Venezuela falls behind on oil-for-loan deals with China, Russia

HOUSTON/CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's state-run oil company, PDVSA, has fallen months behind on shipments of crude and fuel under oil-for-loan deals with China and Russia, according to internal company documents reviewed by Reuters.

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Aid ship to help Rohingyas arrives in Myanmar, greeted by protest

YANGON (Reuters) - A small group of protesters greeted a ship from Malaysia when it docked in Myanmar on Thursday carrying aid bound for the troubled state of Rakhine, where many members of the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority live.

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Russia airstrikes accidentally kill three Turkish soldiers in Syria, Turkish army says

ANKARA (Reuters) - Russian airstrikes accidentally killed three Turkish soldiers and wounded 11 others during an operation against Islamic State in northern Syria on Thursday morning, Turkey's military said in a statement.

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NATO allies lock in U.S. support for stand-off with Russia

ZAGAN, Poland/RUKLA, Lithuania (Reuters) - Immediately after Donald Trump was elected, U.S. diplomats urged Lithuania to rush through an agreement to keep American troops on its soil, reflecting alarm that the new, Russia-friendly U.S. president might try to stop more deployments in Europe.

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In French bellwether city, scandal deepens election uncertainty

CHARTRES, France (Reuters) - Chartres has in past decades been a bellwether for France's presidential elections, but ahead of this spring's poll the signal from this white-collar city appears to be blurred by a scandal that has fed into a wave of anti-establishment feeling.

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Trump breaks ice with China's Xi in letter seeking 'constructive' ties

BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump has broken the ice with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a letter that said he looked forward to working with him to develop relations, although the pair haven't spoken directly since Trump took office.

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Turkish-led rebels attack IS posts inside al-Bab city: rebels

AMMAN (Reuters) - Turkish-backed Syrian opposition fighters resumed a major offensive inside the Islamic State-held city of al-Bab on Thursday, a day after they broke through IS defenses in its remaining stronghold in Aleppo province.

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Tunnel explosion kills two Palestinians in Gaza, its health ministry says

GAZA (Reuters) - The Gaza Health Ministry said an Israeli bombing of a tunnel near the Egyptian border killed two Palestinians on Thursday, but the military denied any involvement.

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Lawyers for South Korea's Park reject questioning: prosecutor's spokesman

SEOUL (Reuters) - Lawyers for South Korean President Park Geun-hye have rejected a plan by a special prosecutor investigating a graft scandal to question her, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office said on Thursday.

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Polls show French far-right Le Pen winning election first round, but losing knockout

PARIS (Reuters) - Far-right leader Marine Le Pen looks set to win the first round of France's presidential election in April, according to a new survey issued on Thursday, with other polls indicating she will lose the runoff to centrist Emmanuel Macron.

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Japan's Abe to propose new cabinet level talks with United States - government official

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will propose a new cabinet level framework for U.S.-Japan talks on trade, security and macroeconomic issues, including currencies, when he meets U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday, a Japanese government official involved in planning the summit said.

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Yemen keeps counter-terrorism operations with U.S. despite raid

WASHINGTON/DUBAI (Reuters) - Yemen said on Wednesday it had not suspended counter-terrorism operations with the U.S. government, despite controversy over a U.S. commando raid on al Qaeda militants in which several civilians were also killed.

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Trump presidency heralds new era of closer ties with Egypt

CAIRO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Friendly phone calls, an invite to the White House, a focus on Islamic militancy and what Donald Trump called "chemistry" have set the tone for a new era of warmer U.S.-Egyptian ties that could herald more military and political support for Cairo.

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Family's return to rebuild Aleppo street points to Syria's future

ALEPPO, Syria (Reuters) - The Batash family are working with their bare hands to clear debris from Aleppo's al-Mouassassi Street, rebuilding their wrecked neighborhood after years of fighting that came to an end in December.

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Exclusive: More than 1,000 feared killed in Myanmar army crackdown on Rohingya - U.N. officials

COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh (Reuters) - More than 1,000 Rohingya Muslims may have been killed in a Myanmar army crackdown, according to two senior United Nations officials dealing with refugees fleeing the violence, suggesting the death toll has been a far greater than previously reported.

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France's Fillon makes appeal to voters, retains party backing

PARIS (Reuters) - Conservative French presidential candidate Francois Fillon appealed to voters on Wednesday via a newspaper column to back his campaign, trying to claw back support after losing his place as frontrunner over accusations of fake jobs for his family.

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Russian court says opposition leader Navalny guilty of embezzlement

KIROV, Russia (Reuters) - A Russian judge said on Wednesday that opposition leader Alexei Navalny was guilty of embezzlement, Interfax news agency reported, a decision that may force the activist to drop his plan to run in next year's presidential election.

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Turkish army and Syrian rebels close in on Islamic State town

ANKARA/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels supported by Turkish armed forces have seized control of strategically important hills around the Islamic State-controlled town of al-Bab, Turkey's military said on Wednesday.

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Mexicans back president's Trump snub despite mounting disapproval

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexicans approve of President Enrique Pena Nieto's decision to withdraw from a planned summit with U.S. counterpart Donald Trump, even as the Mexican leader's popularity has sunk to a four-year low, a poll showed on Tuesday.

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China says United States should 'brush up on' South China Sea history

BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States needs to brush up on its history about the South China Sea, as World War Two-related agreements mandated that all Chinese territories taken by Japan had to be returned to China, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in Australia.

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Trump reiterates U.S. support to Turkey in call with Erdogan: White House

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump reiterated "U.S. support to Turkey as a strategic partner and NATO ally" during a phone call with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday, the White House said.

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At least 20 dead in bomb blast outside Afghan Supreme Court

KABUL (Reuters) - At least 20 people were killed on Tuesday in a bomb blast outside the Supreme Court in the centre of the Afghan capital, government officials said, in what appeared to be the latest in a series of attacks on the judiciary.

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Syria carried out mass hangings at military prison: Amnesty International

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian government has executed up to 13,000 prisoners in mass hangings and carried out systematic torture at a military jail near Damascus, rights watchdog Amnesty International said on Tuesday.

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Islamic State sees chance to revive fortunes in Trump presidency

BEIRUT (Reuters) - President Donald Trump has set out to crush Islamic State when it is already at a low ebb, but Islamists and some analysts say his actions could strengthen the ultra-hardline group by creating new recruits and inspiring attacks on U.S. soil.

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Netanyahu, Trump align on Iran ahead of Israeli leader's visit

JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Seizing on an Iranian missile test, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and new U.S. President Donald Trump are nearing common ground on a tougher U.S. policy towards Tehran ahead of their first face-to-face talks at the White House.

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Iran says unlike what Trump thinks, nuclear deal is a "win-win" accord

DUBAI (Reuters) - Unlike what U.S. president Donald Trump thinks, the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers was a win-win accord, President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday, noting that the deal can be used as a stepping stone to defuse tension in the region.

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South Korea's prosecutor says indicts former top Park aide, ex-minister

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's special prosecutor has indicted a former culture minister and a top aide to President Park Geun-hye on charges of abuse of power and perjury for their role in drawing up a blacklist of artists critical of the leader, a spokesman said.

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Israel legalizes settler homes on private Palestinian land

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel passed a law on Monday retroactively legalizing about 4,000 settler homes built on privately owned Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, a measure that has drawn international concern.

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Trump: militant attacks 'all over Europe,' some not reported

TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Monday accused the news media of ignoring attacks by Islamist militants in Europe.

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Iraqi forces wage psychological war with jihadist corpses

MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - The flyblown corpses of Islamic State militants have been rotting along a main street in north Mosul for two weeks, a health risk for passersby. Suicide bombers' belts beside the fighters can still explode, killing anyone nearby.

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Iran's missile test 'not a message' to Trump

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran said on Monday a recent missile trial launch was not intended to send a message to new U.S. President Donald Trump and to test him, since after a series of policy statements Iranian officials already "know him quite well".

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China welcomes Mattis' emphasis on South China Sea diplomacy

BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Monday welcomed U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis' suggestion that diplomacy should be the priority in the South China Sea, and that major U.S. military action was not being considered to contend with China's assertive behavior there.

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Kremlin says it wants apology from Fox News over Putin comments

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Monday it wanted an apology from Fox News over what it said were "unacceptable" comments one of the channel's presenters made about Russian President Vladimir Putin in an interview with U.S. counterpart Donald Trump.

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China protests U.S. sanction list on Iran that hits Chinese firms

BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Monday said it had "lodged representations" with the United States over Washington's new sanctions list targeting Iran, which includes Chinese companies and individuals.

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Afghan diplomat shot dead at consulate in Pakistan's Karachi

KARACHI (Reuters) - An Afghan diplomat was shot dead on Monday in the Afghan consulate in Pakistan's southern city of Karachi in what was described as a personal dispute, Pakistani officials said.

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Russia, Turkey, Iran discuss Syria ceasefire implementation in Astana

ASTANA (Reuters) - Experts from Russia, Turkey, Iran and the United Nations have started a technical meeting in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, to discuss in detail the implementation of the Syrian ceasefire agreement, Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

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France's Fillon under pressure to quit presidential bid as fake work row rages

PARIS (Reuters) - France faces a week of political uncertainty with Francois Fillon, the rightwing presidential candidate, under mounting pressure to quit the race because of a fake-jobs-for-the-family scandal and divisions over whether, and how, to replace him.

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Germany's Gabriel reassured on U.S. policy after Washington trip

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Sunday he was reassured after meetings last week with top U.S. officials that the United States was committed to a united Europe and to the NATO alliance.

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Pentagon failed to disclose up to thousands of air strikes: report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon has failed to disclose up to thousands of air strikes the U.S. military carried out over several years in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan against militants in those countries, the Military Times reported on Sunday.

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U.S. coalition jets bomb Islamic State-held town near Euphrates Dam

AMMAN (Reuters) - U.S-led coalition planes bombed an Islamic State-controlled town near the Euphrates Dam in northern Syria a day after the launch of a new phase of a campaign to capture the militants' defacto capital of Raqqa, activists and the militants said on Sunday.

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At former jihadist training camp, Iraqi police face drones, crack snipers

MOSUL (Reuters) - As a walkie-talkie carried word of another casualty from an Islamic State mortar attack, an Iraqi policeman peered through leaves at enemy positions just across the Tigris River. He kept his head low to avoid snipers but also had an eye on the sky.

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Philippines government says church 'out of touch' in attacking drugs war

MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippine government derided Catholic bishops on Sunday as "out of touch" after they used weekend sermons to attack a war on drugs they said had created a "reign of terror" for the poor.

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Poll gap between Merkel's conservatives, Social Democrats shrinks to 4 points

BERLIN (Reuters) - The lead in voter support for German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative alliance over the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) shrank to a multi-year low of 4 percentage points, an opinion poll showed on Sunday.

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Russia's Lavrov backs renewal of U.N.-led Syria talks

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia supports the continuation of talks on the Syrian crisis under United Nations auspices, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

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Bomb blast hits outside Bahraini capital, no casualties: state news

DUBAI (Reuters) - A bomb exploded on a main thoroughfare on the outskirts of the Bahraini capital Manama on Sunday damaged several cars but caused no injuries, in what the interior ministry described as a "terrorist" act.

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Trump says U.S. will work to restore peace in Ukraine

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump told Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko the United States will work to restore peace along the border with Russia.

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Shot Louvre attacker's condition improving: French prosecutor

PARIS (Reuters) - The condition of the man shot and seriously wounded outside the Louvre museum when he set upon French soldiers with a pair of machetes is improving and he is out of danger, the Paris prosecutor's office said on Saturday.

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Thousands protest in London against Trump's refugee ban

LONDON (Reuters) - Several thousand people demonstrated outside the U.S. embassy in London on Saturday against President Donald Trump and his temporary ban on refugees and nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.

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U.S.-backed Syrian force in new phase of Raqqa assault

RAQQA PROVINCE, Syria (Reuters) - An alliance of U.S.-backed militias said it had started a new phase of its campaign against the Islamic State-held city of Raqqa on Saturday, aiming to complete its encirclement and sever the road to militant strongholds in Deir al-Zor province.

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Iran tests missile and radar systems in defiance of U.S. sanctions

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran is holding a military exercise on Saturday to test its missile and radar systems, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump's administration imposed sanctions on Tehran for its recent ballistic missile test.

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Australian foreign minister says U.S. refugee swap proceeding

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said on Saturday that a controversial refugee resettlement deal with the United States would go ahead, despite U.S. immigration officials postponing interviews with asylum seekers.

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Mattis reaffirms U.S. alliance with Japan 'for years to come'

TOKYO (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis wrapped up a visit to Japan on Saturday reaffirming Washington's commitment to its defense treaty with Tokyo amid concerns about President Donald Trump's approach to the region and the alliance.

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Mattis says no need for dramatic U.S. military moves in South China Sea

TOKYO (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Saturday played down any need for major U.S. military moves in the South China Sea to contend with China's assertive behavior, even as he sharply criticized Beijing for "shredding the trust of nations in the region."

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France's Le Pen kicks off election campaign at Lyon rally

LYON, France (Reuters) - France's far-right party leader Marine Le Pen kicks off her presidential campaign on Saturday, hoping a manifesto focused on promises to shield voters from globalisation can boost her election chances at a time of turmoil in French politics.

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Divided on Trump, EU insists on European unity

VALLETTA (Reuters) - European Union leaders said they agreed to stick together in dealing with Donald Trump, but at their first summit since he took office they were at odds on how far to confront or engage with the new U.S. president.

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French soldier shoots, wounds machete-wielding attacker at Paris Louvre

PARIS (Reuters) - A French soldier shot and wounded a man armed with machetes and carrying two bags on his back on Friday as he tried to enter the Paris Louvre museum in what the government said appeared to have been a terrorist attack.

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U.S. defense chief, in Japan, reaffirms commitment to defense treaty

TOKYO (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's defense secretary on Friday reaffirmed America's commitment to its mutual defense treaty with Japan during a meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo.

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U.S. warns North Korea of 'overwhelming' response if nuclear arms used

SEOUL (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's defense secretary warned North Korea on Friday of an "effective and overwhelming" response if Pyongyang chose to use nuclear weapons, as he reassured Seoul of steadfast U.S. support at the end of a two-day visit.

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White House says Israeli settlement building may not help peace

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration said on Thursday Israel's building of new settlements or expansion of existing ones in occupied territories may not be helpful in achieving peace with Palestinians, adopting a more measured tone than its previous pro-Israel announcements.

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Trump discusses safe zones in Syria with Jordan's king: White House

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump discussed with Jordan's King Abdullah the possibility of establishing safe zones in Syria, the White House said on Thursday.

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Trump says 'nothing off the table' on Iran, as Republicans plan action

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Thursday that "nothing is off the table" in dealing with Iran following its test launch of a ballistic missile, and his fellow Republicans in Congress said they would back him up with new sanctions.

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Exclusive: U.S. expected to impose fresh sanctions on Iranian entities - sources

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is expected to impose sanctions on multiple Iranian entities as early as Friday following Tehran's recent ballistic missile test, but in a way that will not violate the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

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McCain says Russia testing U.S. in Ukraine, urges Trump to hit back

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russia is testing President Donald Trump with a surge of violence in eastern Ukraine and the U.S. president should give Ukraine the lethal aid it needs to defend against the attacks, Senator John McCain said in a letter to Trump on Thursday.

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U.S. eases sanctions on Russian intelligence agency

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday eased sanctions on

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Khamenei ally says useless for U.S. to threaten Iran over missile test: Fars

ANKARA (Reuters) - A top adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Thursday Iran will not yield to "useless" U.S. threats from "an inexperienced person" over its ballistic missile program.

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Australia-U.S. ties hit new low after reported acrimonious Trump call

SYDNEY (Reuters) - U.S. ties with ally Australia were strained on Thursday over a reported acrimonious phone call between their two leaders and U.S. President Donald Trump's assertion that an existing refugee swap deal was "dumb."

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U.S. military probing more possible civilian deaths in Yemen raid

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Wednesday it was looking into whether more civilians were killed in a raid on al Qaeda in Yemen on the weekend, in the first operation authorized by President Donald Trump as commander in chief.

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For hardline West Bank settlers, Jared Kushner's their man

BET EL, West Bank (Reuters) - For many in the Israeli settlement of Bet El, deep in the occupied West Bank, Donald Trump's choice of Jared Kushner as his senior adviser on the Middle East is a sign of politics shifting in their favor.

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Mattis to discuss THAAD missile system in South Korea talks

SEOUL (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said he would sound out ally South Korea on efforts to rein in North Korea's nuclear and missile programs as he arrived in Seoul on Thursday, including plans to deploy a U.S. missile defense system there.

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U.S., Mexican officials meet in Mexico, discuss security: sources

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A Mexican delegation met U.S. military officials in southern Mexico on Tuesday to discuss security initiatives, sources said on Wednesday, as the two countries seek to find common ground in tough negotiations over trade, security and immigration.

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Civilians likely killed in Yemen raid: U.S. military

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A deadly dawn raid on the al Qaeda militant group in southern Yemen earlier this week "likely killed" civilians and could include children, the U.S. military said on Wednesday.

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Romanians rally in biggest anti-corruption protest in decades

BUCHAREST (Reuters) - More than 250,000 Romanians demonstrated on Wednesday against a government decree decriminalizing some graft offences, seen as the biggest retreat on reforms since the country joined the European Union in 2007.

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Syria opposition says U.N. can't pick delegates to peace talks

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria's main opposition body said on Wednesday it would be "unacceptable" for the United Nations to choose opposition delegates to the next round of peace talks in Geneva planned for this month.

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Trump White House puts Iran on notice over ballistic missile test

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's national security adviser, Michael Flynn, said the United States was officially putting Iran on notice on Wednesday over its "destabilizing activity" after it test-fired a ballistic missile over the weekend.

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Violence erupts during eviction of Israeli settlers from illegal outpost

AMONA, West Bank (Reuters) - Rightist protesters scuffled with Israeli police carrying out a court order to evict settlers from an illegal outpost in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, hours after the government announced more construction in larger settlements.

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When towering rivals Rabin and Nasser met for lunch - in Rabin’s own words

NEW YORK (Reuters) - In the midst of a furious Middle East war nearly 70 years ago, a group of Israeli and Egyptian officers put down their guns, ate lunch together and discussed the prospects for peace in the region, according to a documentary film that premiered in New York last month.

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Ukraine says military cargo plane shot at from Russian-held gas rig

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine's Defence Minister Stepan Poltorak said on Wednesday a Ukrainian military cargo plane had been shot at with a firearm from a Russian-held gas rig on the Black Sea.

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The Art of the Deal: Why Putin needs one more than Trump

MOSCOW (Reuters) - In his book, 'Art of the Deal,' Donald Trump said the best deals were ones where both sides got something they wanted. His credo, applied to a potential U.S.-Russia deal, flags an awkward truth for Vladimir Putin: He wants more from Trump than vice versa.

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Britain's Brexit bill set to clear first legislative hurdle

LONDON (Reuters) - A law allowing Prime Minister Theresa May to trigger Britain's exit from the European Union is expected to clear its first legislative hurdle on Wednesday, paving the way for the government to launch divorce talks by the end of March.

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Russia says Trump should be more specific on Syria safe zones plan

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump should be more specific about his proposal to set up safe zones in Syria and said attempts to implement a similar policy in Libya had been tragic.

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Iran confirms new missile test, says did not violate nuclear deal

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's defense minister said the Islamic Republic had tested a new missile, confirming earlier reports, Tasnim news agency quoted him as saying on Wednesday.

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