Fearing far-right surge, Merkel tells Germans to vote on Sunday
BERLIN (Reuters) – Fears that apathy could boost the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in an election on Sunday have driven Chancellor Angela Merkel and her main rival to urge their backers to go out and vote.
EU says wants clear Brexit commitments from Britain
ROME (Reuters) – The European Union wants Britain to end uncertainties over the terms of its exit from the bloc, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said on Thursday.
Mexico races to save 12-year-old girl as quake toll hits 237
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Rescuers labored against the odds as dawn broke on Thursday to save a 12-year-old schoolgirl and other possible survivors trapped beneath crumpled buildings in central Mexico following the country’s deadliest earthquake in 32 ye…
French union boss: we won’t beat Macron reforms if we are divided
PARIS (Reuters) – Public anger at French President Emmanuel Macron’s economic and social reforms is growing, but the “corporate bosses” will triumph if trade unions fail to pull together, the hard-left CGT union warned on Thursday ahead of nationwide s…
Spanish crackdown has undermined Catalan independence bid, regional leader says
MADRID/BARCELONA (Reuters) – Catalan leaders acknowledged on Thursday that plans to hold a referendum independence from Spain on Oct. 1 had been undermined by the arrest of senior regional officials and the seizure of campaign material by national po…
Italy’s 5-Star Movement votes for leader, Di Maio seen winning
ROME (Reuters) – Members of Italy’s anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, which leads most opinion polls before a national election early next year, began voting on Thursday to elect their leader and candidate for prime minister.
North Korea says sanctions threaten survival of its children
GENEVA (Reuters) – North Korea told a U.N. rights panel that international sanctions imposed on it over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs would endanger the survival of North Korean children.
Turkey, Iran, Iraq consider counter-measures over Kurdish referendum: Anadolu
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey, Iran and Iraq have agreed to consider counter-measures against Kurdish northern Iraq over a planned independence referendum, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency said on Thursday.
Former Hong Kong student leader escapes jail sentence for campus protest
HONG KONG (Reuters) – The former leader of the Hong Kong University student union on Thursday received a court sentence of community service for his role in a campus protest, escaping the fate of a growing list of young activists put behind bars.
Leaked memo fuels accusations of ethnic bias in Afghan government
KABUL (Reuters) – A leaked memo from an staff member in Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s office this week has set off a storm of criticism and accusations that the note lays bare systematic favoritism to Ghani’s own Pashtun ethnic group.
