WSJ.com What's News - Worldwide News Briefs for Jun 15

LONDON TOWER FIRE DEATH TOLL CLIMBS TO AT LEAST 17

Prime Minister Theresa May's government came under mounting pressure over the fire that engulfed a high-rise building in west London and killed at least 17, as critics pushed for answers on how a tragedy of its scale could have happened in the U.K.

GERMANY, AUSTRIA CHIDE U.S. SENATE'S RUSSIA SANCTIONS BILL

Germany and Austria on Thursday sharply criticized the U.S. Senate's plan to add sanctions on Russia, describing it as an illegal attempt to boost U.S. gas exports and interfere in Europe's energy market.

CHINA MAKES LEAP TOWARD 'UNHACKABLE' QUANTUM NETWORK

Chinese scientists have succeeded in sending specially linked pairs of light particles from space to Earth, an achievement experts in the field say gives China a leg up in using quantum technology to build an "unhackable" global communications network.

TURKEY SEES ITSELF AS TARGET IN SAUDI-LED MOVE AGAINST QATAR

Turkey's determination to stand by Qatar during its spat with a Saudi-led group of Arab nations has taken many in the Mideast by surprise. But if Turkey allows Qatar's autonomy to be crushed, Ankara fears the Erdogan administration could be next to face international pressure.

SYRIA'S NEWEST FLASHPOINT IS BRINGING U.S. AND IRAN FACE TO FACE

Southern Syria, once the quietest corner of the country's multisided conflict, has unexpectedly become a contested territory where the two countries are vying for control.

PUTIN CRITICIZES NEW U.S. SANCTIONS

Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized new sanctions approved by the U.S. Senate, blaming them on domestic political battles in the U.S.

TERRORIST'S MOTHER: 'UNYIELDING IN HIS VIEWS ON ISLAM'

More than a year before Youssef Zaghba and two other terrorists killed eight people in a rampage in London this month, the Italian-Moroccan man's radicalization alarmed his mother and raised Italian authorities' suspicions.

U.K. GOVERNMENT'S CONTROVERSIAL EARLY PEEKS AT ECONOMIC STATS TO END

Britain's statistics body said it would stop giving the U.K. government access to official data ahead of public release, a practice that statisticians had long complained increased the chances of leaks.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 15, 2017 17:16 ET (21:16 GMT)