U.S. to send delegation to China’s Belt and Road summit
BEIJING (Reuters) – The United States will send a delegation led by White House adviser Matt Pottinger to a summit for China’s new Silk Road plan this weekend, China’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
U.S.-backed Syrian forces expect Raqqa assault soon, await weapons
TABQA, Syria (Reuters) – The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Friday their attack to capture Raqqa city from Islamic State would begin soon and the U.S.-led coalition would supply them with weapons including armored vehicles for the assault.
Austria’s conservative star wants snap vote, coy on party role
VIENNA (Reuters) – Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz on Friday called for a snap parliamentary election but stopped just short of claiming his squabbling conservative party’s leadership and trying to bring down the coalition government.
Exclusive: Indonesian Islamist leader says ethnic Chinese wealth is next target
JAKARTA (Reuters) – The leader of a powerful Indonesian Islamist organization that led the push to jail Jakarta’s Christian governor has laid out plans for a new, racially charged campaign targeting economic inequality and foreign investment.
At G7, world finance chiefs are trying to gauge Trump’s plans
BARI, Italy (Reuters) – Finance chiefs from some of the world’s richest nations began a two-day meeting in Italy on Friday, with Europe, Japan and Canada hoping to come away with a clearer picture of U.S. President Donald Trump’s plans on important pol…
Attack on Yemeni port would displace at least 400,000: U.N.
GENEVA (Reuters) – An attack on Yemen’s Hodeidah port would displace more than 400,000 people, the U.N. International Organization for Migration said on Friday, doubling its previous minimum estimate.
China conducting extensive espionage against Australia: defense official
SYDNEY (Reuters) – China is conducting extensive espionage against Australia, Australia’s most senior defense department official said on Friday, in a rare public accusation against its largest trading partner.
South Korea to attend China’s Silk Road summit amid diplomatic rift
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea has accepted a last-minute invitation from China to a conference on a new Silk Road, days after a new president took office on Seoul pledging to engage in discussions with Beijing to ease tension over a U.S. anti-missile s…
Italian police see no specific target of petrol bomb in Rome
ROME (Reuters) – Italian police were investigating the causes of explosions in central Rome on Friday which are not thought to have had a specific target, a senior official said. Nobody was injured in the blasts.
Erdogan sees ‘new beginning’ in Turkish-U.S. ties despite Kurdish arms move
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday his visit to the United States next week could mark a “new beginning” in relations between the NATO allies that were shaken by a U.S. decision to arm Kurdish YPG fighters in Syria.
