Egypt “hunting down” gays, conducting forced anal exams – Amnesty
CAIRO (Reuters) – Six Egyptian men arrested for “promoting sexual deviancy” and “debauchery” on social media will be subjected to anal examinations ahead of their Oct. 1 trial, Amnesty International said on Saturday.
Iranian, Iraqi government forces to hold joint border drills – Iran TV
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iranian and Iraqi central government forces are to hold joint military exercises near their borders, Iran’s state television reported on Saturday, as part of Tehran’s effort to support Baghdad after the Kurdish independence referendum…
Moscow denies Ukraine’s accusation that it left troops in Belarus
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian troops that took part in war games in neighboring Belarus have returned to their bases, a Russian general said on Saturday.
German police arrest suspect over alleged supermarket extortion attempts
BERLIN (Reuters) – German police said on Saturday they had arrested a suspect in the case of an alleged extortionist who attempted to force supermarkets into coughing up tens of millions of euros by slipping a potentially lethal poison into baby food.
Congo military plane crashes in Kinshasa, no survivors: airport director
KINSHASA (Reuters) – A military cargo plane crashed in Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital Kinshasa on Saturday, killing the crew, the director of the city’s main airport said.
Spanish police occupy Catalan tech hub before banned vote
MADRID (Reuters) – Spanish police have occupied the Catalan government’s communications hub on the eve of a banned independence referendum which Madrid is attempting to thwart, the regional authority said on Saturday.
Macron’s invitation to visit France not related to Kurdish referendum – Iraqi PM
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Saturday an invitation from French President Emmanuel Macron to visit Paris was not related to the Kurdish independence referendum.
Afghan Shi’ites fear further attacks on Ashura celebrations
KABUL (Reuters) – The Afghan capital Kabul braced on Saturday for further possible attacks ahead of Ashura, the holiest day on the Shi’ite Muslim calendar, a day after an attack claimed by Islamic State that killed at least five people near a large Shi…
Britain’s Johnson wants maximum two-year Brexit transition
LONDON (Reuters) – British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson said a transition period from the European Union after Britain’s exit from the bloc in March 2019 must not last more than two years.
Air strikes in Syria’s rebel-held Idlib kill 28: Observatory
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Overnight air strikes killed 28 people, including four children, in a village in rebel-held Idlib province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Saturday.
