Reuters, Moscow
Russia is preparing for President Vladimir Putin to visit Saudi Arabia after he received an invitation from Saudi King Salman, agencies cited Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov as saying on Friday.
The visit will happen at a time depending on Putin’s schedule, Bogdanov was quoted as saying. He did not say what the talks in Saudi Arabia might touch upon or when Riyadh’s invitation to Putin was made.
Court begins probing Rajapakse-era graft
AFP, Colombo
Former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapakse’s chief of staff was indicted Friday for embezzling millions of dollars from a state insurance firm.
A new court set up to investigate major corruption began its work by hearing the case against Rajapakse’s top aide Gamini Senarath and three others accused of siphoning off 500 million rupees ($3 million).
Deep magnitude 7.1 quake strikes Peru
Reuters, Chile
A magnitude 7.1 quake struck nearly 250 km (155 miles) northwest of Puerto Maldonado, Peru, in the early hours of Friday at a depth of 610 km, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
There were no immediate reports of damage, though social media users said tremors had been felt across the country and as far away as Arica in northern Chile.
Saudi seeks death penalty for woman activist
AP, Dubai
Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor is seeking the death penalty against five human rights activists, including, for the first time a woman, campaigners say.
The five stand accused of inciting mass protests in mainly Shiite areas of the Sunni-ruled kingdom’s oil-rich Eastern Province and human rights groups charged that the execution threat was a calculated bid to stifle dissent.
Indonesian quake death toll reaches 555
AFP, Jakarta
A string of deadly earthquakes that rocked Indonesia’s Lombok island this summer killed 555 people and injured nearly 1,500, the disaster agency said Friday, with hundreds of thousands left homeless.
