Belgium formally arrests Catalan separatists at Spain’s request
Two Catalan leaders sought by Spain for their involvement in a failed independence bid have been formally arrested in Belgium but then released pending an extradition hearing, Belgian federal prosecutors said in a statement on Friday.
U.N. top court to rule on jurisdiction in Ukraine vs Russia dispute
The top United Nations court rules on Friday on whether it has jurisdiction to hear a case brought by Ukraine against Russia over Moscow’s alleged support of pro-Russian separatists in the Crimea and eastern Ukraine.
Iran confirms downing of drone, says it belonged to foreign country: IRNA
Iran has confirmed that its forces shot down a drone on Friday and said it belonged to a foreign country, state news agency IRNA reported.
Thai police accuse Muslim insurgents of attack in southern Thailand
Police in Thailand on Friday blamed the worst attack in years in the country’s restive south on the region’s main Muslim insurgent group, the Barisan Revolusi Nasional.
Anxious families look for missing relatives after deadly Burkina Faso mine ambush
Distraught families urged authorities to let them view the bodies of victims of an attack near a gold mine in Burkina Faso as dozens of workers who could have been caught in the ambush remained unaccounted for on Friday.
Death of Hong Kong student likely to add fuel to unrest
Hong Kong students held a candlelight vigil for a university undergraduate who died on Friday after falling in a car park during pro-democracy protests, a death that could trigger more unrest.
World’s worst air: India’s pollution crisis in perspective
Wildfires have raged across California for about a month and air problems persist in China, but no other place on Earth is battling the scale and severity of the pollution that chokes large swathes of north India.
Citing ‘competition of values’, Pompeo lays into Russia, China
Russia slays political opponents and China’s tactics would be “horrifyingly familiar” to former East Germans, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday, describing free nations as being in a “competition of values” with unfree nations.
Pompeo says NATO needs to change, or risk becoming obsolete
NATO needs to grow and change or else the alliance runs the risk of becoming obsolete, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday.
Serbia faces risk of U.S. sanctions over Russian arms deal
A U.S. official is expected to arrive in Belgrade on Friday to discuss the purchase of advanced Russian anti-aircraft missile systems which could expose Serbia to U.S. sanctions.
