Taliban attends peace talks in Moscow for first time, no progress reported
Taliban officials attended a diplomatic conference in Russia for the first time on Friday, but reaffirmed their stance that they would only hold direct talks on Afghanistan’s future with the United States, not with the Kabul government.
Britain’s May marks Armistice centenary in Belgium, France
Prime Minister Theresa May laid a wreath at a cemetery in Belgium and traveled to northern France on Friday to honor 700,000 British soldiers killed in World War One, on the eve of commemorations to mark the centenary of the Armistice.
Loud blast, heavy gunfire heard in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu
A loud explosion followed by heavy gunfire could be heard in the heart of Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on Friday, a Reuters witness said.
Syrian government, rebels clash in northwest: Observatory, SANA
Syrian government forces clashed with rebels in Hama province on Friday in some of the heaviest fighting in the northwest for a year, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Saudi-backed Yemeni forces launch new offensive to capture port city of Hodeidah from Houthis
Yemeni forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition launched on Friday a “vast offensive” to take full control of Hodeidah, the internationally recognized government based in the southern city of Aden said in a statement.
Gas-laden truck set afire, three stabbed, one dead in Australia terror attack
A Somali-born man set fire to a pickup truck laden with gas cylinders in the center of the Australian city of Melbourne on Friday and stabbed three people, killing one, before he was shot by police in a rampage they called an act of terrorism.
Fighting preventing Yemenis from fleeing Hodeidah city: UNHCR
Nearly half a million people have fled their homes in the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah and surrounding areas since June but fighting has now blocked exit routes, a spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said on Friday
Merkel marks Nazi ‘Kristallnacht’ against Jews with synagogue speech
Germany has a moral duty to fight rising anti-Semitism, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday in an emotional speech at a Berlin synagogue to mark the 80th anniversary of a Nazi campaign of attacks on Jews.
Anti-Semitic acts surge in France, government promises action
Violence against Jews and other acts of anti-Semitism have surged in France in the past nine months, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on Friday, promising stepped-up action against perpetrators.
Fly Jamaica flight makes emergency landing in Guyana, six hurt
A Fly Jamaica Boeing 757 airliner heading for Toronto made an emergency landing at the Georgetown, Guyana international airport early Friday after the pilot reported problems with the plane’s hydraulic system. Six passengers were injured.
