U.N. urges Venezuela to allow dissent as asylum requests soar
GENEVA (Reuters) – The United Nations called on Venezuela’s government to let people take part in an unofficial referendum on the constitution on Sunday and make sure security forces do not use excessive force against protesters.
Iraq faces pockets of Islamic State resistance in Mosul’s Old City
MOSUL/TIKRIT, Iraq (Reuters) – Iraqi forces hit further pockets of resistance from Islamic State militants in Mosul’s Old City on Friday, four days after the prime minister declared victory.
North Korea says to take ‘corresponding measures’ if U.N. adopts sanctions
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea said on Friday it will take “corresponding measures” if the U.N. Security Council adopts another sanctions resolution in response to the North’s test-launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) last week.
Russia, mulling expulsions, says too many U.S. spies work in Moscow
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia said on Friday that too many American spies operated in Moscow under diplomatic cover and said it might expel some of them to retaliate against the United States over Washington’s expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats last year.
‘Get used to it’ China says as it flies bombers near Japan
BEIJING (Reuters) – China told Japan on Friday to “get used to it” after it flew six warplanes over the Miyako Strait between two southern Japanese islands in a military exercise.
Hong Kong leader says shares compassion of people over Liu’s death
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Friday she shares the compassion of people over the death of Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo and acknowledged “anxieties” about “incidents” in the former British colony.
Japan PM Abe’s support slides below 30 percent, new poll shows
TOKYO (Reuters) – Support for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, battered by a smoldering scandal and voters’ perception he is taking them for granted, has fallen below 30 percent, the lowest since he returned to power in 2012, a survey released on Fr…
Two Israeli policemen shot dead near Jerusalem holy site, gunmen killed
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Three Arab-Israeli gunmen shot dead two Israeli policemen near one of Jerusalem’s most holy sites on Friday and were then killed by security forces, police said, in one of the most serious attacks in the area for years.
Orban courts voters outside Hungary with grants, cheap loans
CANTAVIR, Serbia (Reuters) – Antal Kracsun was about to convert a barn next to his house into a pigsty to make ends meet, when a Hungarian government grant gave his small welding business in northern Serbia a shot in the arm.
Brazil lawmaker Maia emerges to shield reforms from crisis
BRASILIA (Reuters) – The scion of a storied political clan is edging closer to being Brazil’s third president in just over a year, a change that would be blessed by business elites who view House Speaker Rodrigo Maia as the easiest solution to a politi…
