JAKARTA / AP An Indonesian court ruled on Tuesday that witness testimony will be closed to the media in the blasphemy trial of the capital’s minority Christian governor. Jakarta Gov. Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama is charged with insulting Islam and desecrating the Quran by using one of its verses to boost his chances of winning re-election. Ahok, 50, is seeking …

  BAGHDAD / AP Violence claimed the lives of at least 6,878 civilian Iraqis last year, the United Nations said, as the Iraqi government struggles to maintain security nationwide and to dislodge IS group militants from areas under their control. The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq, known as UNAMI, said its numbers “have to be considered as the absolute minimum” as …

  SANAA / ap Yemeni security officials say pro-government forces attacked al-Qaida militants in the country’s south, killing 15 extremists but losing 11 of their own troops. The officials say the fighting began when security forces, backed by the Saudi-led coalition that is fighting Yemen’s Shiite rebels elsewhere in the country, on Tuesday attacked an al-Qaida stronghold in the Marakasha …