Turkey jails filmmaker for movie portraying execution of Erdogan
A Turkish filmmaker was convicted on Friday of membership of a terrorist group for a feature film that portrayed President Tayyip Erdogan having a gun pointed at his head as his family lay dead all around him, the state news agency said.
Can the pope’s accusers force him to resign?
Calls by a Roman Catholic archbishop and his conservative backers for Pope Francis to resign could make it difficult, if not impossible, for him to do so, Church experts say.
Turkey’s Erdogan calls on leaders of Iran and Russia to back Idlib ceasefire
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Friday called on the leaders of Iran and Russia to agree to a ceasefire in the Syrian rebel-held province, saying such an accord would be a “victory” of their summit.
Greek PM to promise economic relief after years of bailout austerity
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is expected to announce on Saturday some economic relief for Greeks who have swallowed the bitter pill of austerity during years of financial crisis, in a keynote policy speech that may be overshadowed by protests.
Gay rights rule change sets up cultural battle in conservative India
When R. Balaji, a 30-year-old gay man from India’s IT hub Bengaluru, comes up for white-collar job interviews, recruiters are initially enthusiastic.
After spy’s scepticism, Germany says will probe Chemnitz events
Germany will continue to investigate events in Chemnitz following a fatal stabbing, the interior minister said on Friday after the domestic intelligence chief suggested a video showing violence in the eastern city could be “targeted misinformation”.
Far-right frontrunner in Brazil presidential election stabbed
The far-right candidate in the Brazilian presidential election, who is the current frontrunner, was stabbed while campaigning on Friday, throwing the election into chaos just weeks before the vote.
Power returning to Hokkaido, but quake exposes flaws of Japan grid
After an earthquake knocked out power to 5.3 million people this week, Hokkaido Electric expects to restore service to most of them by the end of Friday, but experts say the island-wide outage highlights fundamental flaws in Japan’s power grid.
Turkey appoints ambassador to Netherlands in effort to normalize ties
Turkey and the Netherlands on Friday appointed ambassadors to each other, as part of an agreement to normalize their relations, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said.
Uneasy truce may not last long in embattled Libyan capital
Residents of Tripoli emerging from their homes to take advantage of a ceasefire between armed groups noticed one thing straight away. The militias had not withdrawn their heavy weapons from strategic locations in the Libyan capital.
