AP, Vienna :
Wrapping up a bruising political campaign season, Austrian political parties were counting down Saturday toward an election that could turn the country rightward after decades of centrist governance amid voter concerns over immigration and Islam.
Sunday’s vote is coming a year ahead of schedule after squabbles led to the breakup last spring of the coalition government of the Social Democrats and the People’s Party. A total of 16 parties are vying for 183 seats in the national parliament and will be chosen by Austria’s 6.4 million eligible voters. But less than a dozen parties have a chance of getting seats.
Pentagon identifying new areas to pressure Iran
Reuters, Washington :
The US military said on Friday it was identifying new areas where it could work with allies to put pressure on Iran in support of President Donald Trump’s new strategy, which promises a far more confrontational approach to Tehran.
President Trump struck a blow against the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement on Friday in defiance of other world powers, choosing not to certify that Tehran is complying with the deal and warning he might ultimately terminate it.
100 IS fighters surrender in Raqa
AFP, Kobane :
Dozens of Islamic State group fighters have surrendered over the past day in their one-time bastion Raqa, the US-led coalition backing the offensive on the Syrian city said Saturday.
“Within the past 24 hours, approximately 100 ISIS terrorists have surrendered in Raqa, and were removed from the city,” the coalition said in an emailed statement to AFP.
2 anti-Indian rebels, civilian killed in Kashmir
AP, Srinagar :
Police and locals say a civilian has been killed during anti-India protests in disputed Kashmir following a gunbattle that killed two rebels.
Top police officer Muneer Ahmed Khan says Indian troops cordoned off southern Litter village on a tip that militants were hiding in a civilian home.
Muneer says the militants tried to escape from the security cordon while firing their guns but soldiers gunned down them during a brief gunbattle.
Kenya police shoot dead 2 oppon protesters
Reuters, Nairobi :
Kenyan police shot dead two people and wounded a third when a crowd tried to storm a police station during an opposition protest against a looming presidential vote re-run, a senior official said.
Around 20 youths attempted to take over the station during an otherwise peaceful rally in the town of Bondo in the southwest county of Siaya, forcing officers to open fire, County Commissioner Josephine Onunga said by phone.
Police also used teargas to break up small demonstrations in Kenya’s three main cities – Kisumu, the capital and the port of Mombasa – defying a government ban on rallies in city centers. Hospital authorities said 20 people were injured in Kisumu, an opposition stronghold.
