India’s rural pain goes beyond farmers, and it may be a problem for Modi
Three years ago, brick mason Pundlik Bhandekar was always busy as farmers in his tiny hamlet in western India commissioned new houses and nearby towns were undergoing rapid urbanization. Now, as the rural economy sinks and the pace of construction slow…
U.N. urges Venezuela to clarify fate of detained opposition lawmaker
The U.N. human rights office called on Venezuela’s government of Nicolas Maduro on Friday to disclose the whereabouts of opposition lawmaker Gilber Caro, who was arrested last week.
EU leaders set to meet just after EU election: officials
National leaders of the European Union are likely to meet for a summit in Brussels on May 28, two days after a European Parliament election, to discuss who should run the EU executive for the next five years, officials said on Friday.
Don’t tell us to halt the violence, tell the Americans, Afghan Taliban say
The U.S. special peace envoy for Afghanistan should stop calling on Taliban militants to lay down their arms and tell the United States to end the use of force instead, the Taliban said on Friday.
Germany shuts down ‘Darknet’ criminal trading platform, detains 3
German investigators have shut down the world’s second largest criminal online trading platform and detained three German men suspected of running it, the Frankfurt public prosecutor’s office said on Friday.
Russian foreign minister to hold rare talks with U.S. counterpart next week: TASS
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will hold rare face-to-face talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Finland next week, TASS news agency quoted a deputy Russian foreign minister as saying on Friday.
Fighting rages overnight in Libyan capital
Heavy fighting raged through the night in the battle for the Libyan capital Tripoli, with neither side able to secure gains on the frontlines as an offensive by eastern commander Khalifa Haftar entered its fifth week.
Leader of Australia’s ‘tinnie terror’ plot jailed for 7 years
An Australian court jailed for seven years on Friday the leader of a group of men who planned to travel by motorboat from Australia to the Philippines to join Islamic State fighters.
North Korea cuts rations to record low after bad harvest, U.N. says
North Korea has cut food rations to 300 grams a day — less than 11 ounces — the lowest ever for this time of year, and further cuts are likely after the worst harvest in a decade, the United Nations said on Friday.
Hungary depriving rejected asylum seekers of food: U.N.
Hungary is deliberately depriving rejected asylum seekers of food as they await deportation, in violation of international law, the United Nations human rights office said on Friday, calling on authorities to end the practice.
