Benelux wants to discuss EU future with central, eastern Europe
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, the so-called Benelux countries, invited Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia for talks in the Netherlands on the future of the European Union, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte sa…
Kremlin says President Putin met new Exxon CEO
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday that President Vladimir Putin had met new Exxon Mobil chief executive officer Darren Woods on Thursday.
Helicopter with business executives crashes in Istanbul, killing all aboard
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – A helicopter carrying an executive of the Turkish Eczabicasi group and four Russians, including the firm’s Russian operations chief, crashed in Istanbul on Friday, killing all seven people on board, the city’s mayor was quoted as s…
China urges ‘out of the box’ thinking on North Korea
BEIJING (Reuters) – China on Friday called for all parties involved in the dispute over North Korea’s nuclear and missile program to think “out of the box” to reach a resolution.
Russian police detain prominent Putin critic after his prison release: wife
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Police in Moscow detained prominent anti-Kremlin activist Ildar Dadin on Friday, less than two weeks after he was released from prison, when he staged a one-man demonstration outside Russia’s prison service, his wife and eye witnesse…
U.S.-backed SDF says it can capture Syrian city of Raqqa
BEIRUT (Reuters) – U.S.-backed Syrian militias said on Thursday they have enough forces to capture the city of Raqqa from Islamic State with support from the U.S.-led coalition, underlining their opposition to any Turkish role in the attack.
France’s Juppe backs Fillon, says ‘not leaving the ship’
PARIS (Reuters) – Former prime minister Alain Juppe on Friday backed Francois Fillon’s French presidential bid and became one of his sponsors, a bid to heal party divisions just days after he sharply criticized the conservative candidate in a speech.
Turkey seeks to build Syrian military cooperation with Russia
MOSCOW/ANKARA (Reuters) – President Tayyip Erdogan sought to build cooperation with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Friday over military operations in Syria, as Turkey attempts to create a border “safe zone” free of Islamic State and the Kurdish YPG m…
China vows to strike against separatism on anniversary of Tibet uprising
BEIJING/SYDNEY (Reuters) – China said it would “resolutely strike” against the “Dalai Lama clique’s separatist activities” as protesters planned demonstrations in major world cities on Friday to mark the anniversary of a Tibetan uprising against Chines…
Islamic State mortars, snipers take toll on Iraqi forces in Mosul
MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) – At a field clinic near the front line in Mosul, an Iraqi Federal Police officer lay in discomfort on a stretcher, a drip in his arm and bandage plastered over his chest from where shrapnel from a mortar shell had pierced his ste…
