WSJ.com What's News - Worldwide News Briefs for Apr 28

U.S. PRESSES FOR TOUGHER GLOBAL ACTION ON NORTH KOREA

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told a session of the United Nations Security Council that all nations should downgrade ties with North Korea and urged more diplomatic and economic pressure on Kim Jong Un's regime to confront the nuclear threat from Pyongyang.

POPE, IN EGYPT, TAKES AIM AT VIOLENCE BASED ON RELIGION

Pope Francis opened a two-day visit to Egypt Friday with a forceful denunciation of religiously inspired violence and a call for religious freedom, three weeks after terrorists killed dozens in bombings at two Christian churches there.

EU FOREIGN MINISTERS CLASH OVER RELATIONS WITH TURKEY

Europe's top diplomats meeting here Friday said they are unwilling to formally end Turkey's bid to join the European Union, but pressed Ankara to make clear its intentions.

THE CALCULATED RISE OF EMMANUEL MACRON

The French presidential candidate skipped electoral politics, instead connecting with the elite and acquiring market experience. His contest with the National Front's Marine Le Pen will determine the future of his country-and of the European project.

CHINA RIGHTS LAWYER GETS SUSPENDED SENTENCE AFTER TWO YEARS' DETENTION

A Chinese court sentenced a prominent civil liberties lawyer following a closed-door trial, effectively letting him go nearly two years after he was detained in a clampdown on legal activists.

EU TO SAY NORTHERN IRELAND CAN JOIN BLOC IN EVENT OF UNIFICATION

European Union leaders are set to promise that if Northern Ireland were to unite with the Republic of Ireland in the future, it would automatically rejoin the bloc.

BRAZIL GENERAL STRIKE DISRUPTS TRANSPORTATION

A general strike in Brazil on Friday, called to protest proposed labor and pension changes, has disrupted public transportation around the country and some analysts say it could force the government to weaken the proposed reforms.

AMID VENEZUELA'S TURMOIL, LEADER STARS IN CHEERY VIDEOS

As antigovernment protests shake Venezuela's streets, President Nicolás Maduro is presenting an image of a very different country in a series of social-media videos, all starring himself.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 28, 2017 17:24 ET (21:24 GMT)