Japan PM asks Iran’s Rouhani to stick to nuclear deal
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday asked Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to stick to commitments made in a landmark 2015 nuclear deal and said Japan would do what it can to ensure stability in the Middle East.
Iraq’s Sistani says early election only way out of crisis
Iraq’s top Shi’ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, said on Friday that an early election was the only way out of the current unrest gripping the country and a new government should be formed soon.
U.S. envoy meets second senior China diplomat as NK tensions rise
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng met U.S. special envoy for North Korea Stephen Biegun on Friday, China’s foreign ministry said, Biegun’s second high-level meeting in Beijing in two days amid growing tension on the Korean peninsula.
Indian court hands life term to ex-lawmaker for rape
A court sentenced a former lawmaker from India’s ruling party to life imprisonment for raping a teenager, his lawyer said on Friday, the highest ranking Indian politician to get such a significant jail term in recent years.
India’s protesters cheered on by actors, artists and singers
With a voice known to millions of Indian movie goers, Zubeen Garg crooned one of his old songs with patriotic fervor, but he is protesting against the government, not singing its praises.
Malaysia’s Najib swears in a mosque he had no role in model’s murder
Former Malaysian premier Najib Razak took an oath at a mosque on Friday denying allegations he ordered the 2006 murder of a Mongolian model, seeking to clear his name in the Muslim-majority country.
Russia’s security service searches suspect’s home after deadly shooting: neighbors
Russia’s FSB security service on Friday searched the home of a man named by Russian media as the prime suspect in a rare shooting incident near the FSB’s central Moscow headquarters the previous evening, neighbors told Reuters.
Kazakhstan to liberalize rules on protests and political parties
Kazakhstan will drop a requirement for public protests to be approved by authorities, make it easier to form political parties, and reduce punishments for hate speech and libel, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said on Friday.
Heathrow’s new runway delayed until at least 2028
An expansion plan for Britain’s Heathrow Airport will be delayed by more than a year and a third runway now will probably be completed between early 2028 and late 2029, the airport said.
U.S. envoy meets second senior China diplomat as North Korea tensions rise
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng met with U.S. special envoy for North Korea Stephen Biegun on Friday, China’s foreign ministry said, Biegun’s second high-level meeting in Beijing in two days amid growing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
