IN BRIEF (Page 11)

The Philippines

Duterte refuses conditional grants

President Rodrigo Duterte has refused grants from the European Union, officials said on Thursday, forgoing possibly more than $278.7 million in funds for development projects in the country. The EU delegation in Manila said the Philippine government informed it about its decision on Wednesday. Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea said the move was "to discourage them from interfering with our internal affairs". EU has been critical with Duterte's hardline anti-narcotics campaign, claiming there exists "extrajudicial killings" that violate "human rights".

Turkey

Ankara calls for ouster of US envoy

Turkey called on Thursday for the ouster of the US diplomat who coordinates the international coalition fighting against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, accusing him of backing Syrian Kurdish militia. Washington and Ankara are bitterly at odds over US support for the Kurdish People's Protection Units in Syria, a faction that Turkey considers a front for banned Kurdistan Workers' Party separatists.

Iran

Khamenei urges high vote turnout

Iran's supreme leader called on Wednesday for a high turnout in this week's presidential election, urging voters to head to the polls and send a message to the United States but stopped short of saying which candidate he prefers of the four remaining in the race. In a televised speech, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the US and its allies are closely watching the vote on Friday. President Hassan Rouhani, a moderate, is seeking re-election in the vote.

United States

Jury acquits Tulsa cop in shooting

A jury in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Wednesday acquitted a white police officer who says she fired out of fear last year when she killed an unarmed black man with his hands held above his head. The family of Terence Crutcher burst into tears and expressed outrage after jurors found Tulsa officer Betty Jo Shelby not guilty of first-degree manslaughter in the Sept 16 shooting. About 100 demonstrators later gathered outside the courthouse and some briefly blocked a main street.

France

Experts warn of new cyberattack

Another large-scale, stealthy cyberattack is underway on a scale that could dwarf last week's assault on computers worldwide, said Proofpoint, a global cybersecurity firm, on Wednesday. The new attack targets the same vulnerabilities the WannaCry ransomware worm exploited but, rather than freeze files, uses the hundreds of thousands of computers believed to have been infected to mine virtual currency.

(China Daily 05/19/2017 page11)