AP, Ankara
Qatar’s foreign minister says it would be unfair to describe U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s shuttle diplomacy to find a solution for the Persian Gulf as a failure, insisting that the crisis “cannot be solved in a day.”
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani also told reporters in Ankara on Friday that Qatar would continue to work with the United States and Kuwait to end the standoff with its four Arab neighbors.
Japan PM’s support slides below 30 percent: Poll
Reuters Tokyo
Support for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, battered by a smoldering scandal and voters’ perception he is taking them for granted, has fallen below 30 percent, the lowest since he returned to power in 2012, a survey released on Friday showed.
The suspicion of scandal over favoritism for a friend’s business and missteps by cabinet ministers have taken a toll on Abe, who until recently was favored to win a third three-year term as party leader, and hence, premier when his current term expires in September 2018.
Two Israeli cops shot dead in Jerusalem
Reuters, Jerusalem
Three Arab-Israeli gunmen opened fire at police near Jerusalem’s holiest site on Friday, killing two Israeli policemen, before security forces killed the attackers, police said.
Israeli authorities shut the area after the attacks – the most serious incident in years close to the highly sensitive compound, which is holy to both Muslims and Jews.
Aquino faces charges for role in clash
AP, Manila
The anti-graft prosecutor in the Philippines on Friday ordered the filing of criminal charges against former President Benigno Aquino III for his alleged liability in a 2015 clash with Muslim rebels that killed 44 police.
Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales said Aquino should be charged with usurpation of authority and corruption for allowing the suspended national police chief to play an active role in the operation in southern Mamasapano town, which resulted in the biggest single-day combat loss for Filipino forces in years.
