Criminal code revamp plan sends chill through Indonesia’s LGBT community
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Zulfikar Fahd, an openly gay man, says he flew from Indonesia to Canada late last month and claimed asylum on grounds that he faced discrimination and persecution in his home country, which is poised to criminalize same-sex relations and consensual sex outside marriage.
Turkish warplanes strike Kurdish militia targets in Syria: army
ISTANBUL/BEIRUT (Reuters) – Turkish warplanes have launched a new wave of bombing of Kurdish militia targets in Syria’s Afrin region, the military said on Friday, and a monitoring group said the strikes killed seven fighters and two civilians.
France presses Russia over Syria as more die in besieged rebel area
BEIRUT/PARIS (Reuters) – France urged Russia to make Syria’s government ease a dire humanitarian crisis in two rebel-held areas as more air strikes pounded them on Friday, adding to the death toll from one of the deadliest weeks of the war.
Tillerson sees tough talks with Turkey on northern Syria
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will press Turkey to rein in its military operation in northern Syria during a visit to the NATO ally next week, a senior U.S. official said on Friday.
Italy vote campaign heats up as 5-Star takes aim at Berlusconi
ROME (Reuters) – Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said on Friday he would sue the leader of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement for calling him “a traitor to the country,” in an increasingly bitter election campaign.
Tillerson sees difficult talks with Turkey on northern Syria
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will press Turkey to rein in its military operation in northern Syria during a visit to the NATO ally next week, a senior U.S. official said on Friday.
Hoping to win backing for German coalition, SPD boss drops foreign minister plan
BERLIN (Reuters) – The leader of Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD), Martin Schulz, gave up plans on Friday to become the country’s next foreign minister, hoping to shore up support among his party’s members for a new ‘grand coalition’ with Angela Merkel…
U.S. sanctions three people, three firms for supporting Islamic State
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States said on Friday it had imposed sanctions on three people and three companies in the Philippines, Turkey and Somalia that supported the Islamic State militant group, including a business that procured parts for un…
Colombia’s FARC temporarily suspend campaign amid angry protests
BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombia’s former FARC rebel group, now a political party, on Friday temporarily suspended its presidential and legislative election campaigns due to security concerns after angry protests disrupted their campaign stops.
Cardinal says Vatican-China deal would put Catholics in communist cage
HONG KONG (Reuters) – A senior Catholic cardinal accused the Vatican on Friday of acting “unfaithfully” in its rapprochement with China, saying it would put the country’s some 12 million faithful in a bird cage controlled by the Communist Party.
