AFP, Jerusalem
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to Russia on Wednesday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, mainly focussing on the war in Syria, his office said late Saturday.
The two leaders will meet in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi to “discuss the latest developments in the region,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
Such talks have allowed the two countries to so far avoid any confrontation between their air forces, as Russia conducts airstrikes in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Iran parliament OKs majority of Rouhani Cabinet picks
AP, Tehran
Iranian lawmakers on Sunday approved 16 Cabinet members nominated by recently re-elected President Hassan Rouhani, including the first defense minister unaffiliated with the elite, hard-line Revolutionary Guard in 25 years. Parliament speaker Ali Larijani said lawmakers approved 16 of 17 proposed ministers, among them Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif with 236 votes, and Oil Minister Began Zingano with 230 out of 288 members of parliament who voted. The chamber has 290 seats.
Finland marks minute of silence for stabbing victims
AFP, Helsinki
Finland observed a minute of silence on Sunday for the victims of a stabbing attack in the city of Turku that left two people dead and eight injured.
Friday’s stabbing is being investigated as the country’s first terror attack.
At Turku’s market square, where the attack happened, several hundred people gathered to hold a minute of silence at 10:00 am (0700 GMT).
Philippine churches to ring bells to protest drug killings
AP, Manila
A Philippine Catholic leader said Sunday that church bells would be rung every night for three months across his northern district to raise alarm over a sharp spike in police killings of drug suspects, adding to a growing outcry over President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody crackdown.
