BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s President Xi Jinping urged senior leaders of the ruling Communist Party on Friday to deepen the fight against corruption in the military and to advance the modernization of national defense, state news agency Xinhua reported. “The barrel of the gun must always obey the party’s command,” Xi said at a group session of the Politburo, China’s top decision-making body. He also called for the establishment of an intelligent military system, including greater use of unmanned technologies and deeper use of cyber-information systems, Xinhua said.

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HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba announced new details of its plans to open up key sectors of its state-run economy to private industry amid Washington’s campaign of maximum pressure aiming to force an economic transformation on the island. Economic changes including easing restrictions on land use, allowing businesses to import fuel and medications, and authorizing private tourist companies to operate on the island were discussed by Cuban lawmakers at a two-day National Assembly that concluded on Thursday. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said the reforms were not being implemented to please the U.S. and key sectors of the economy would not be privatized.

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BEIJING (Xinhua) - The establishment of Japan’s National Intelligence Bureau represents yet another negative move in terms of its domestic and external security policies, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday. Spokesperson for the ministry Mao Ning made the remarks at a regular press conference, after Japan held the first meeting of the National Intelligence Council and launched its secretariat, known as the National Intelligence Bureau, earlier in the day.

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ATHENS (AFP) - Hundreds of people in central Greece are being evacuated by sea after the coastal town they were in became hemmed in by one of the many wildfires raging across the country. Around 500 people, mostly tourists, were left stranded after the fire broke out near Agios Vasileios in Viotia on Friday morning and rapidly spread on strong winds, local media report. Another fire has broken out further along the coast, while firefighters continue to battle a large wildfire on the Greek island of Crete that ignited earlier this week.

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OTTAWA (AFP) - Canadian police are investigating a possible hate-motivated attack on a mosque in Winnipeg after its leaders said Thursday that shots were fired at the building while community members were inside. The Rahma Islamic Centre said in a statement that two people fired at the facility from a vehicle Wednesday evening before using another weapon to break glass at the building. “Thankfully, they were unable to enter the premises, and no one was injured,” the center said. It added that the individuals are believed to be the same attackers who shouted racial slurs at people gathered there earlier in the day.