U.S. says time to act on North Korea, China says not up to Beijing alone
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned on Friday that failure to curb North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs could lead to ‘catastrophic consequences,’ while China and Russia rebuked Washington’s threat of…
Pope says religious leaders must unite to defeat “barbarity”
CAIRO (Reuters) – Leaders of all faiths should unite in renouncing religious extremism and counter the “barbarity of those who foment hatred and violence,” Pope Francis said on Friday at the start of a two-day visit to Cairo.
China warns situation with North Korea at ‘critical point’
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – China warned on Friday that the situation with North Korea over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs is at a “critical point” and said dialogue and negotiations are the only “practical” way to end tensions.
Asia weighs risk and reward in Trump ‘bromance’ with China’s Xi
BEIJING (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s warm words for Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping as a “good man” will reassure Beijing that he finally understands the importance of good ties, but risks leaving America’s regional allies puzzling over whe…
Brazil protesters, police clash in first general strike in decades
SAO PAULO/BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazilian protesters torched buses, clashed with police in several cities and marched on President Michel Temer’s Sao Paulo residence on Friday amid the nation’s first general strike in more than two decades.
German airlines scrap post-Germanwings two-person cockpit rule
BERLIN (Reuters) – German airlines will scrap by June 1 a rule that two people must be in the cockpit of a plane at all times, introduced after the Germanwings crash of March 2015, the BDL airline association said on Friday.
Israel planning 15,000 more settlement homes in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel intends to build 15,000 new settlement homes in East Jerusalem, the Housing Ministry said on Friday despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s request to “hold back” on settlements as part of a possible new push for Israeli-Pale…
U.S.-backed forces push against IS in slowed Raqqa campaign
BEIRUT (Reuters) – U.S.-backed forces fighting Islamic State in Syria took several neighborhoods from the militant group in the town of Tabqa on Friday, they said in a statement, part of a campaign to oust Islamic State from its stronghold in Raqqa cit…
How North Korea gets its oil from China: lifeline in question at U.N. meeting
BEIJING (Reuters) – As the United Nations Security Council decides whether to tighten the sanctions screws on North Korea, the country’s increasingly isolated government could lose a lifeline provided by state-owned China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC)…
Iran’s Rouhani, presidential rivals face off in pre-election debate
ANKARA (Reuters) – The main hardline conservative challenger in the race for Iran’s May 19 presidential election and three other candidates will take on President Hassan Rouhani over his economic record in a televised debate on Friday.
