Catalans prepare to defy Madrid in banned independence vote
BARCELONA (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of Catalans are expected to defy Spanish authorities and attempt to vote in a banned independence referendum on Sunday, raising fears of unrest in the wealthy northeastern region.
Germany’s first same-sex ‘I do”s as marriage equality dawns
BERLIN (Reuters) – Same-sex couples will marry in Germany for the first time on Sunday, when some civil registry offices will open specially to celebrate the coming into force of a marriage law that parliament passed in June.
Syrian army, allies seize more of Jordanian frontier: report
BEIRUT (Reuters) – The Syrian army and its allies seized control of nine positions at Syria’s border with Jordan, expanding their control at the southern frontier, a military news outlet run by the Lebanese group Hezbollah said on Saturday.
Hezbollah says Kurdish vote a step toward wider Mideast partition
BEIRUT (Reuters) – The powerful Lebanese group Hezbollah said on Saturday that an Iraqi Kurdish independence vote marked a first step toward the partition of the Middle East, warning that this would lead to “internal wars” and must be opposed.
Air France flight with engine damage makes emergency landing in Canada
(Reuters) – An Air France flight from Paris to Los Angeles made an emergency landing in eastern Canada on Saturday after one of its four engines sustained “serious damage” over the Atlantic, the airline said.
‘Not appropriate,’ envoy tells Britain’s Boris over Kipling poem in Myanmar
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s ambassador to Myanmar was forced to interrupt Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson earlier this year as he tried to recite a nostalgic colonial poem by Rudyard Kipling in public during a visit to the country’s most famous Buddhi…
Top Austrian Social Democrat steps down over election smear campaign
VIENNA (Reuters) – The number 2 figure in Austria’s ruling Social Democratic Party has said he is resigning over a smear campaign against the main conservative party’s leader, adding to a sense of disarray on the centre-left of politics weeks before a …
Iraqi PM presses case for Baghdad to receive Kurdistan oil revenue
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Saturday pressed the case for the central government in Baghdad to receive the income from Kurdistan’s oilfields, saying the money would be used to pay Kurdish civil servants.
U.S. directly communicating with North Korea, seeks dialogue
BEIJING (Reuters) – The United States said on Saturday it was directly communicating with North Korea on its nuclear and missile programs but Pyongyang had shown no interest in dialogue.
Tens of thousands march for abortion rights in Ireland
DUBLIN (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of people marched in Dublin on Saturday to demand the loosening of some of the strictest abortion laws in the world ahead of a 2018 referendum on the issue.
