World News Roundup: Turkey’s Erdogan's struggles to court Kurds; U.S. has no plans to cap H-1B work visa

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Spain's Supreme Court to settle 'Wolf Pack' sex abuse case

Spain's Supreme Court decides on Friday whether to uphold a ruling that cleared five young men of gang-raping a teenager at a bull-running festival, concluding a case that triggered mass protests and calls to change the law. Both the woman, who was 18 at the time, and the men, who called themselves the "Wolf Pack," appealed to Spain's highest court after a regional court sentenced them to nine years each over the lesser charge of sexual abuse.

Georgians angry over Russian lawmaker's visit try to storm parliament

Crowds angry over the visit of a Russian lawmaker tried to storm Georgia's parliament building on Thursday evening, pushing against lines of riot police, throwing bottles, and grabbing riot shields from some officers and tearing off their helmets. The scenes in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, flared up suddenly after public anger over the visit and speech of a member of the Russian lower house of parliament triggered big street protests. Riot police repeatedly used tear gas, prompting most of the protesters to disperse.

Turkey's Erdogan's struggles to court Kurds in battle for Istanbul

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party is struggling to win over Istanbul's Kurdish voters, a group it considers a key constituency in the electoral battle for control of Istanbul, despite softening its polarizing rhetoric. Erdogan's Islamist-rooted AK Party (AKP) has been targeting Kurdish voters in the hopes of securing victory in a re-run of a mayoral election in the city on Sunday. But the efforts – which include adopting a more conciliatory stance than in the run up to the March election – are falling flat due to doubts about the party's sincerity, according to voters, Kurdish politicians, and pollsters.

U.S. has no plans to cap H-1B work visa program: State Department

The Trump administration has no plans to cap H-1B work visas for nations that force foreign companies to store data locally, the State Department said on Thursday. Reuters reported on Wednesday that the United States had told India it was considering restricting the H-1B visa programs for countries with the data storage requirement. The H-1B program issues U.S. visas to skilled foreign workers.

Ambitious 2050 climate goal relegated to footnote at EU summit

A push by most European Union nations for the world's biggest economic bloc to go carbon-neutral by 2050 was dropped to a footnote at a summit on Thursday after fierce resistance from Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary. France and Germany had led efforts for the 28-member EU to lead by example in setting an ambitious new climate goal ahead of U.N. climate talks in September that U.S. President Donald Trump has abandoned.

Then there were two: Johnson and Hunt fight for British PM job

Fervent Brexit campaigner Boris Johnson and foreign minister Jeremy Hunt emerged on Thursday as the only two candidates left in the race to become British prime minister, with the flamboyant Johnson odds-on favorite to win next month. Despite a series of scandals in the past and criticism about his attention to detail, Johnson has dominated the race since Theresa May announced a month ago that she would step down after failing to get her Brexit deal through parliament.

Trump says hard to believe Iranian shooting of U.S. drone was intentional

U.S. President Donald Trump played down Iran's downing of a U.S. military surveillance drone on Thursday, saying he suspected it was shot by mistake and "it would have made a big difference" to him had the remotely controlled aircraft been piloted. While the comments appeared to suggest Trump was not eager to escalate the latest in a series of incidents with Iran, he also warned: "This country will not stand for it."

Chinese and North Korean leaders agree to strengthen bilateral ties: KCNA

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed that amid "serious and complicated" international affairs, developing North Korea and China's relationship is good for both countries and regional peace, North Korean state media said on Friday. The two leaders, meeting in a summit in Pyongyang since Thursday, agreed to have close strategic communication and deepen cooperation in various fields, KCNA said.

Trump, Trudeau seek collaboration on 'critical minerals': White House

U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ordered officials on Thursday to develop a plan for U.S.-Canada collaboration on "critical minerals," the White House said in a statement after a meeting of the two leaders. Washington has grown concerned about its dependence on imports of rare earth minerals from China after Beijing suggested using them as leverage in their trade war.

About 200 mostly Venezuelan migrants stuck at Chile-Peru border

Some 200 mostly Venezuelan migrants fleeing poverty at home remained stranded on the Peru-Chile border on Thursday after being refused entry to Chile earlier this week. Chilean Interior Minister Andrés Chadwick told the local press that only "those who meet the legal requirements, regardless of origin and nationality, will enter the country."