Politics

  Beijing / AFP EU Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker said on Wednesday that the bloc would use all possible means to protect itself from a flood of Chinese steel imports blamed for turmoil in global markets. China, which makes more than half the world’s steel, is widely accused in Europe of dumping its production on world markets and violating trade ...

  Kathmandu / AFP Nepali opposition lawmakers filed a no-confidence motion on Wednesday against Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli after former rebel Maoists quit his coalition, triggering fresh political turmoil in the quake-hit nation. The former guerrillas announced on Tuesday that they were withdrawing support for Oli’s government, leaving his coalition without a majority. After Oli refused to resign, opposition ...

  Tokyo / AFP Japan’s Emperor Akihito plans to abdicate in favour of his eldest son within a few years, Japanese media reported on Wednesday. The 82-year-old monarch has told those close to him that the role should be occupied by someone who can fulfil the emperor’s duties as stipulated in the constitution, public broadcaster NHK reported, without citing a ...

  Tehran / AFP Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers is holding a year after it was agreed but more needs to be done to ensure its full implementation, a top Iranian negotiator said on Wednesday. “The total process has been relatively satisfactory despite the difficulties that we see in the implementation,” Hamid Baeidinejad told a press conference in Tehran ...

  Ankara / AFP Turkey has condemned as unacceptable an exhibition at the European Parliament on a Kurdish militia force in northern Syria, accusing the EU body of showing propaganda for a “terrorist” group. The exhibition in Brussels contains images from Syria of the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), a group the West sees as allies in the fight ...

  The Hague / AFP An international tribunal ruled on Tuesday against China’s claims it had “historical rights” in the South China Sea in a bitter dispute that risks further stoking regional tensions. Manila — which had lodged the suit against Beijing —welcomed the decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration but Beijing reacted furiously, saying it “neither accepts nor ...

  Beijing / AFP European Union President Donald Tusk on Tuesday cautioned China to respect the international system, as the world’s second-largest economy finds itself locked in disagreements over maritime law and global trade practices. His comments preceded a judgement from a UN-backed tribunal declaring that China had no “historic rights” in the strategically vital South China Sea, a ruling ...

Afghanistan / AFP US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter arrived in Afghanistan on Tuesday for talks with President Ashraf Ghani, days after the United States and NATO pledged to keep thousands of troops in the troubled country. Carter flew in to Bagram air base outside Kabul, and was due to meet with Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah in the capital later. The ...

  Damascus / AFP Syria’s army has extended a nationwide truce for another three days, but continued Tuesday to press its campaign against rebels in the battered northern city of Aleppo. In a statement late Monday, the armed forces said it would “extend the freeze on fighting on all Syrian territory for 72 hours beginning at 00:01 on July 12.” ...

  Geneva / AFP At least 36,000 people have fled their homes in Juba since heavy fighting erupted in the South Sudanese capital on Friday, the United Nations said on Tuesday. “The latest fighting since Friday has displaced 36,000 people,” Vanessa Huguenin, spokeswoman for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA, said, speaking in French. She added that the number was likely ...