Politics

  Moscow / AP Russia and the Syrian government said they will open humanitarian corridors in Syria’s embattled city of Aleppo on Thursday and offer a way out for opposition fighters wanting to lay down their arms, even as Syrian forces took another district from rebels in the city. The Russian announcement by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu came as Syria’s President ...

  Ankara / AFP Turkey’s top military commanders met on Thursday to replace almost half of their generals in a radical shake-up after the failed coup, as authorities shut down dozens of media outlets in a widening crackdown. The hastily convened meeting came after the government ordered the discharge of 149 generals—nearly half the armed forces’ entire contingent of 358—for ...

  Philadelphia / AFP President Barack Obama will step onto the Democratic convention stage on to champion former political foe Hillary Clinton, defend his own legacy and bury Donald Trump’s chances of reaching the White House. Obama will address the penultimate night of the party convention in Philadelphia, making the case that America’s first black president should be followed by ...

  Manila / AFP US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday said Washington wanted to avoid “confrontation” in the South China Sea, after an international tribunal rejected Beijing’s claims to most of the waters. Kerry made the remarks after meeting with Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay in Manila where they discussed the Southeast Asian nation’s sweeping victory in the arbitration ...

  Brussels / AFP European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday appointed veteran French politician and former EU commissioner Michel Barnier to lead the negotiations with Britain on its exit from the bloc. Britain’s June 23 vote to quit the 28-nation European Union shocked EU leaders who had bet on a vote to remain but they have since rallied, with France ...

  Cilacap / AFP Indonesia will be “on the wrong side of history” if it proceeds with a fresh round of executions this week, rights groups warned Wednesday, as authorities confirmed 14 prisoners will face the firing squad. A group of drug convicts including foreigners have been given notice of their executions and could be put to death as early ...

Beirut / AFP A double bomb attack killed 31 people and wounded dozens in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli in northeastern Syria on Wednesday, Syrian state television reported. In a breaking news alert, state television gave an “initial toll” of 31 dead and 170 wounded, adding that rescue workers were still retrieving victims of the blasts. The Syrian Observatory for Human ...

  Sagamihara / AFP A former employee went on knife rampage at a Japanese centre for the disabled on Tuesday, leaving 19 people dead and 25 injured in the country’s worst mass killing for decades. The 26-year-old man, who was fired and hospitalised earlier this year after making a threat to kill hundreds of disabled people, later turned himself in ...

  Moscow /AFP Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Russia on August 9 for his first face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin since Moscow and Ankara mended ties damaged by the downing of a Russian jet last year, Turkish officials said on Tuesday. “The ambassador has informed us that our dear president (Erdogan) has confirmed that he will be in ...

  Vientiane / AFP US Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday talks with Russia about cooperation in Syria were “making progress”, adding he hopes next month to announce new steps aimed at ending the fighting. Russia and the United States support opposing sides in Syria’s five-year war, which has left 280,000 people dead and forced half the population to flee ...