AP, Tokyo
A U.S. Navy sailor was sentenced Friday to two and a half years in prison for raping a Japanese tourist in Okinawa, the southern island that is home to about half of the 50,000 U.S. troops in Japan.
Justin Castellanos, 24, was sentenced Friday in district court in Naha, the capital of Okinawa, according to Japanese media reports.
Iran urges US to choose diplomacy
AFP, Tehran
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has called on the United States to choose diplomacy over intimidation and to fulfil its obligations under a year-old nuclear deal with world powers.
“The Iran Deal was a triumph of diplomacy over coercion,” Zarif wrote on Twitter late Thursday, the first anniversary of the July 14, 2015 accord with Washington and five other major powers.
Iraqis defy ban to rally for reforms
AFP, Baghdad
Thousands of Iraqis rallied in the heart of Baghdad on Friday, defying warnings from authorities to stay home, to demand an end to sectarianism and corruption in government.
Populist Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who had called for the demonstration, made a brief appearance at the rally in Tahrir Square, which was packed with flag-waving protesters.
Speakers led the protesters in chanting slogans including: “Yes, yes to reform,” “No, no to sectarianism” and “No, no to corruption.”
