Austrian vote gives mandate to far right to enter coalition talks
VIENNA (Reuters) – Austrians shifted to the right in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, giving the far-right Freedom Party a mandate to enter coalition talks with young conservative victor Sebastian Kurz, who fell short of a parliamentary majority.
EU foreign policy chief expects strong EU backing for Iran deal
LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) – European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Monday she expected strong backing from EU foreign ministers for the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers that the U.S. President Donald Trump has repeated…
Death toll from Somalia bomb attacks tops 300
MOGADISHU (Reuters) – More than 300 people died after twin bomb explosions in Mogadishu, an official said on Monday, as locals packed hospitals in search of friends and relatives caught up in Somalia’s deadliest attack in a decade.
Bombs kill Pakistani soldiers hunting U.S.-Canadian family’s kidnappers
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Bomb blasts killed a Pakistani army officer and three soldiers searching for the kidnappers of a freed U.S.-Canadian family in a tribal region bordering Afghanistan, Pakistani and U.S. officials said.
Catalan leader fails to spell out independence stance, calls for talks
MADRID/BARCELONA (Reuters) – Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont failed to clarify on Monday whether he had declared Catalonia’s independence from Spain last week, paving the way for the central government to take control of the region and rule it directl…
Britain’s Johnson says as May heads to Brussels: time to begin serious Brexit talks
LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) – Britain’s Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said it was time to begin “serious negotiations” on Brexit, hours before Prime Minister Theresa May visits Brussels in an attempt to unlock the stalled talks.
Iraq says captures positions south of Kirkuk including airbase
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi forces captured several positions south of Kirkuk from Kurdish fighters on Monday in their bid to regain control of the oil-rich city, which is part of a region that declared itself independent at a referendum last month.
Philippines says two leaders of pro-Islamic State alliance killed
MANILA (Reuters) – Philippine troops killed two top commanders of a militant alliance in an operation in southern Marawi City on Monday, authorities said, a big boost to a military battling the spread of Islamic State’s radical ideology.
Ireland braces as tropical storm Ophelia approaches
LAHINCH, Ireland (Reuters) – Ireland closed schools and hospitals on Monday and warned people to stay indoors as tropical storm Ophelia threatened to lash the country with the worst weather in 50 years.
Philippine survey shows big support for Duterte’s drugs war
MANILA (Reuters) – Nearly nine out of 10 Filipinos support Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, and almost three quarters believe extrajudicial killings are taking place in the bloody crackdown, an opinion poll showed on Monday.
