Politics

  Caracas, Venezuela / AFP Citibank plans to close the account Venezuela uses to make international payments, President Nicolas Maduro said, accusing the US-based bank of mounting a “financial blockade.” “Citibank, with no warning or communication, says that it is going to close the Central Bank and Bank Of Venezuela account. That is what you call a financial blockade,” the ...

  Berlin, Germany / AFP German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny said on Tuesday they expected Britain’s new government to quickly define its relationship with the EU after conservative Theresa May becomes PM. The European Union could not put forward any proposals on the two sides’ future relationship “until it’s clear what the strategy from Britain ...

  Brussels, Belgium / AFP The European Union on Tuesday launched a controversial deal with the United States aimed at curbing government spying on the personal internet infomation of European citizens. The deal replaces one struck down by the EU’s top court in October, a decision which left firms like Google and Facebook in legal limbo over whether they could ...

  Bloomberg Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s convincing win in Sunday’s election has put him on course to scrape the two-thirds majority needed to press ahead with his long-held ambition of revising the country’s pacifist constitution. He also vowed to take “bold” action on the economy. Here’s a look at what’s on Abe’s plate over the coming months: Constitutional Scrap ...

  Istanbul / AP Turkish authorities have placed seven more suspects under arrest over the triple suicide bombings at Istanbul’s main airport last month, bringing to 37 the number charged over the attack. Forty-seven people were killed and 200 wounded in the June 28 bombings and gun attacks on Ataturk International Airport which the Turkish authorities blamed on IS extremists. ...

  Aleppo/ AFP Syrian opposition fighters launched a major assault on government-held districts of Aleppo city on Monday after the regime severed their only remaining supply route into the city. The multi-front assault was also reported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor. The attack was accompanied by a barrage of rocket fire into the regime-held west ...

  Beijing / AFP A tropical storm in China left six people dead and at least eight more missing, reports said, after it lashed Taiwan with typhoon-grade winds and rain. Super Typhoon Nepartak brought chaos to Taiwan Friday, forcing more than 15,000 people to flee their homes as part of the island saw its strongest winds in over a century. ...

  BAGHDAD / AFP Pentagon chief Ashton Carter said on Monday that Washington will deploy 560 additional troops to aid Iraq’s fight to retake Mosul from extremists, further deepening US military involvement in the country. The announcement, which will bring the total authorised number of American military personnel in Iraq to more than 4,600, came two days after Baghdad announced ...

  Srinagar / AFP Five people including a teenage girl were killed in overnight clashes between protesters and government forces in Indian Kashmir after a popular rebel leader was shot dead, police said on Monday, taking the toll to 23. Hundreds more have been wounded in the demonstrations that broke out on Saturday despite a curfew imposed across much of ...

  Seoul / AFP North Korea threatened on Monday to take “physical action” after Washington and Seoul announced they would deploy a sophisticated US anti-missile defence system to counter the growing menace from Pyongyang. Seoul and Washington on Friday revealed their decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in the South following recent North Korean missile ...