Catalan separatist Ponsati starts extradition fight in Scotland
EDINBURGH (Reuters) – Former Catalan education minister Clara Ponsati was greeted by about 100 flag-waving supporters when she arrived in a Scottish court on Thursday to fight extradition to Spain where she is wanted for her role in a banned Catalan independence vote.
Chinese firm to invest $800 million on Sri Lanka Port City underground road
COLOMBO (Reuters) – China Communication Construction Company (CCCC) will invest $800 million to build an underground road network to Sri Lanka’s Port City, a $1.4 billion project built on reclaimed land, a government minister said.
Taliban storm district in Afghanistan’s Ghazni province, killing more than 12 people
GHAZNI, Afghanistan (Reuters) – Taliban militants over-ran a district in Afghanistan’s Ghazni province on Thursday, killing more than a dozen people including the district’s governor before retreating, a police official said.
Conservative Indonesian province to restrict access to public floggings
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (Reuters) – Indonesia’s ultra-conservative Aceh province will only no longer hold canings in public places, but rather only inside prisons, nor allow images of the punishment to be recorded, the provincial government chief said on…
EU extends Iran sanctions by one year over human rights violations
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The Council of the European Union on Thursday extended the sanctions put on Iran over human rights violations by a year until April 2019.
Indonesia to ensure stability during elections, says president’s chief of staff
JAKARTA (Reuters) – A string of Indonesian regional elections this year followed by a presidential and parliamentary vote in 2019 should not deter foreign investment in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, President Joko Widodo’s chief of staff told Reute…
West weighs Syria attack that could lead to confrontation with Russia
LONDON/MOSCOW (Reuters) – British ministers planned to gather on Thursday to discuss whether to join the United States and France in a possible military attack on Syria that threatens to bring Western and Russian forces into direct confrontation.
Japanese finance minister admonishes top bureaucrat after harassment report
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s finance minister admonished his top bureaucrat on Thursday after a magazine reported the official had sexually harassed several female journalists, but he stopped short of imposing any punishment.
Czech PM Babis says government with Communists, far right a last resort
PRAGUE (Reuters) – Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said forming a government with two fringe parties – one anti-NATO and the other anti-EU – was a last resort he would not fall back on without explicit support from his ANO party, a newspaper reported…
Syrian government raises flag in Douma: Russian agencies
BEIRUT/MOSCOW (Reuters) – Syrian government forces have raised their flag over the last rebel bastion in eastern Ghouta, taking full control of the town of Douma as insurgents withdraw, Russian news agencies reported on Thursday, sealing a major victor…
