Politics

  Paris / AFP French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi will meet in August for a summit on Britain leaving the EU, the French presidency said on Wednesday. On the day that Theresa May takes over as the post-referendum British prime minister, French government spokesman Stephane Le Foll said “a summit or meeting” ...

  Ankara /AFP France on Wednesday said it had closed its embassy in the Turkish capital Ankara and its consulate in Istanbul until further notice for security reasons, after cancelling events to mark the July 14 Bastille Day holiday. “The Embassy of France in Ankara, as well as the Consulate General in Istanbul will be closed from Wednesday July 13, ...

  Dallas, United States / AFP President Barack Obama implored Americans of all races to show more unity and understanding as he addressed an emotional memorial for five slain policemen in Dallas. The president, accompanied by First Lady Michelle Obama, leaned heavily on scripture as he ministered to a country stunned by gun violence and torn asunder by race and ...

  Beijing / AFP China warned rivals Wednesday against turning the South China Sea into a “cradle of war” and threatened an air defence zone there, after its claims to the strategically vital waters were declared invalid. The surprisingly strong and sweeping ruling by a UN-backed tribunal in The Hague provided powerful diplomatic ammunition to the Philippines, which filed the challenge, ...

  Seoul / AFP Seoul said on Wednesday an advanced US missile defence system will be deployed in a remote southern county and will have the capacity to protect two thirds of the country against feared attacks from the North. The plan to deploy the powerful system, which fires projectiles to smash into enemy missiles, came last week after the ...

  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 ...