Catalan independence vote divides region’s mayors
BARCELONA (Reuters) – Barcelona’s mayor has asked for reassurances that municipal staff would not face legal action or lose their jobs if they helped to organize an Oct. 1 referendum on Catalonia seceding from Spain.
U.S.-backed forces, Syrian army advance separately on Islamic State in Deir al-Zor
BEIRUT/AL SHADADI, Syria (Reuters) – U.S.-backed militias and the Syrian army advanced in separate offensives against Islamic State in eastern Syria on Saturday, piling pressure on shrinking territory the group still holds in oil-rich areas near the Ir…
Turkey kills 99 Kurdish militants in latest operations: military
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish security forces have killed 99 Kurdish militants, including a high-ranking one, in operations in southeast Turkey over the last two weeks, the armed forces said on Saturday.
Nigeria’s Buhari urges calm after herdsmen kill 19 in central Plateau state
ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari appealed for calm and an end to communal violence on Saturday after police said armed herdsmen killed 19 people in the central state of Plateau.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov to meet U.S. Shannon on Sept. 11-12: RIA
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov will meet U.S. Undersecretary of State Thomas Shannon in Helsinki on Sept. 11-12, the RIA news agency cited a Russian diplomatic source as saying on Saturday.
Hurricane Irma downgraded as it tears into Cuba’s northern coast
HAVANA (Reuters) – Hurricane Irma weakened slightly on Saturday as it battered Cuba’s northern coast while millions of Florida residents were told to evacuate after the storm killed 21 people in the eastern Caribbean and left devastation in its wake.
U.S.-backed forces, Syrian army advance separately on IS in Deir al-Zor
BEIRUT (Reuters) – U.S.-backed militias and the Syrian army advanced in separate offensives against Islamic State in eastern Syria on Saturday, piling pressure on shrinking territory the group still holds in oil-rich areas near the Iraqi border.
As U.S. ban on travel to North Korea kicks in, tourists say their farewells
(This Aug 31 story corrects location of Burkhead’s home in third paragraph.)
U.S. students’ rape allegation against Italian police has ‘some basis’, minister says
ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s defense minister has said there is “some basis” to allegations by two American students that they were raped in Florence by Carabinieri policemen.
Syrian army seizes oilfield from Islamic State in east: state TV
BEIRUT (Reuters) – The Syrian army and its allies recaptured an oilfield from Islamic State near the eastern city of Deir al-Zor on Saturday in further advances against the militants, state TV reported.
