Allies press Catalan leader to declare full independence, ignore Madrid deadlines
MADRID (Reuters) – Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont came under pressure from one of his key allies on Friday to declare full independence and ignore a threat of direct rule from the Spanish government.
Arrested U.S. consulate worker in Turkey meets lawyer
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – A U.S. consulate worker detained by Turkish authorities last week saw his lawyer on Friday.
Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi ‘appalled’ at Rohingya crisis: adviser
GENEVA (Reuters) – Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi is “appalled” at the Rohingya refugee crisis in her country and is determined to fix it, but needs to be careful not to inflame the situation further, an adviser to Suu Kyi told reporters on Friday.
Trump to target Iran nuclear deal, Revolutionary Guard in speech
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump will outline a tougher U.S. strategy for countering Iran on Friday that will seek to strengthen the enforcement of what he considers a flawed nuclear deal and deny funding for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary G…
U.N. cultural agency to pick new chief after U.S. walkout
PARIS (Reuters) – The United Nations’ cultural agency will elect a new chief on Friday, seeking someone who can revive UNESCO’s fortunes after the United States and Israel pulled out.
Turkish forces set up positions in Syria’s Idlib
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Turkey’s military has begun setting up observation posts in northwest Syria’s Idlib province, its General Staff said on Friday, part of a deployment that appears partly aimed at containing a Kurdish militia.
Activists urge Apple to drop apps that play up Philippine drugs war
MANILA (Reuters) – A group of civil society organizations has demanded that Apple Inc remove from its app store games it said violated the tech firm’s guidelines and promoted violence and killings commonplace in the Philippines’ war on drugs.
Kurdish VP : Thousands of troops sent to Kirkuk to face ‘Iraqi threat’
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Kurdish authorities have sent thousands more troops to the oil region of Kirkuk to confront “threats” from Iraq’s central government, the vice president of the autonomous Kurdistan region said on Friday.
‘They have to pay’, EU’s Juncker says of Britain
LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) – Britain must commit to paying what it owes to the European Union before talks can begin about a future relationship with the bloc after Brexit, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Friday.
China banking regulator, Hubei chief front runners to head central bank: sources
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s top banking regulator Guo Shuqing and veteran banker Jiang Chaoliang are front runners to succeed Zhou Xiaochuan, the country’s longest-serving central bank head who is likely to step down next year, according to multiple so…
