Politics

  Beijing / AFP Chinese people who blame Washington for an international tribunal’s dismissal of Beijing’s maritime claims have called for a boycott of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) in protests outside branches in 11 cities, reports said. Crowds gathered to wave placards and shout anti-US slogans outside restaurants stretching from the northern province of Hebei to Hunan province, some 1,600 ...

  Manila / AFP Manila has rejected Beijing’s demand that it “disregard” an international ruling that invalidated the Asian giant’s claims to much of the South China Sea before negotiating on the issue, the Philippines’ foreign secretary said on Tuesday. China last week denounced a UN-backed tribunal’s finding that there was no legal basis for its claims to most of ...

  BRUSSELS / AFP The EU on Tuesday followed the US to launch a new legal challenge at the World Trade Organization over duties and quotas China imposes on its raw materials exports.The EU said China is violating WTO rules with restrictions on exports of key materials such as graphite, cobalt, chromium and magnesia which help Chinese industry at the ...

  Srinagar / AFP Indian Kashmir residents said on Tuesday they are facing shortages of prescription drugs, as parts of the region remained under curfew for an 11th day following deadly clashes between protesters and security forces. As the overall death toll from days of violence rose to 45, shopkeepers warned supplies were running low because trucks were unable to ...

  Islamabad / AFP A special court trying former Pakistani military ruler Pervez Musharraf for treason passed an order on Tuesday freezing his bank accounts and confiscating his property, his lawyer said. The head of a three-judge panel, Mazhar Alam Miankhel, made the order in the absence of the former president, who left for Dubai in March for what was ...

  Kiev / AFP Ukraine said on Tuesday seven of its soldiers had been killed and 14 wounded in “very heated” fighting that marked the bloodiest clashes with pro-Russian separatists in two months. The announcement — the highest daily death toll since Ukraine reported seven of its soldiers dying on May 24 — follows a flurry of talks between world ...

  London, United Kingdom / AFP US Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday became the first senior foreign official to meet British Prime Minister Theresa May since she took office after the Brexit referendum. Kerry visited May at her Downing Street office on the last day of a five-stop tour of European capitals, ahead of talks with the British, ...

  Paris / AFP French lawmakers, prompted by the Bastille Day massacre in Nice, were on Tuesday to debate extending the country’s state of emergency for a fourth time amid mounting criticism of the government’s response to extremist attacks. President Francois Hollande had announced last Thursday that he planned to lift the measures on July 26. But within hours, he ...

  Cleveland / AFP Donald Trump faced an embarrassing plagiarism scandal on Tuesday that tarnished his wife Melania’s prime-time speech to a Republican National Convention already roiled by an opening day rank-and-file revolt. It was a rough start to the four-day political jamboree, which was designed to crown Trump as the presidential nominee and catapult the party toward November’s elections. ...

  Wuerzburg/ AFP A 17-year-old Afghan refugee who attacked four people with an axe on a German train had an Islamic State flag at his house, police said on Tuesday shortly before the extremist group claimed him as one of its fighters. German authorities said they had found the hand-painted IS flag among the belongings of the asylum-seeker, who seriously ...