Politics

  Port-au-Prince / AFP The European Union said it is ending its election observation mission in Haiti, calling the decision to cancel last fall’s election results unjustified. European Commission Vice President Federica Mogherini announced the decision to pull out of the island nation in a statement, saying that “the conditions were not met for the continuation of its activities in ...

Sao Paulo/ AP A bus lost control and plunged into a ravine in Brazil’s Sao Paulo state, killing at least 15 and injuring 31, most of them students, authorities said. The accident happened about 120 kilometers (75 miles) from the country’s economic capital when the driver lost control of the bus carrying 46 passengers and crashed into a rock in ...

  Louisville/ AFP Thousands of people are expected to attend an Islamic prayer service for Muhammad Ali on Thursday, the start of two days of poignant ceremonies honoring the late boxing legend. Ali’s hometown of Louisville in the southern US state of Kentucky will host the tributes that will bring together VIPs and huge crowds of ordinary fans in the ...

  Los Angeles / AFP Two California men went on trial on charges of conspiring to join the IS group for which they allegedly hoped to die as martyrs. Nader Elhuzayel and Muhanad Badawi, both 25 and from Anaheim, were arrested in May of last year by federal agents when Elhuzayel attempted to board a plane in Los Angeles to ...

  Washington / AFP The United States underestimates the long-term impact of civilian deaths on its military missions and is failing to implement lessons learned from 15 gruelling years in Afghanistan, a report found. While the US military frequently stresses it does all it can to prevent civilian casualties, the report said poorly planned air strikes, misidentified targets, unexploded ordinance ...

  Beirut / AFP Thousands of civilians have fled a stronghold of the IS group in northern Syria almost surrounded by US-backed fighters seeking to cut a key supply lifeline for the extremists. The Arab-Kurdish offensive on the town of Manbij is one of two major assaults on the route IS uses to send in more fighters, weapons and money from ...

  Ankara / AFP Turkish President RecepTayyipErdogan has signed into law a reform lifting immunity for lawmakers, his office said, in a move critics believe is aimed at evicting pro-Kurdish MPs from parliament. Erdogan’s approval came late Tuesday, less than a month after parliament adopted the highly controversial reform, which lifts the immunity of 138 deputies from all parties who ...

  Jakarta / AFP Indonesia plans to quadruple maximum jail terms for animal poachers and traffickers in a major overhaul of wildlife crime laws, but environmentalists expressed scepticismon Wednesday the changes would be effective. Maximum sentences for poaching and trading protected animals will be increased from five years to 20 under the new legislation proposed by the environment and forestry ...

  Strasbourg / AFP More than 10,000 people have died crossing the Mediterranean to Europe since 2014, the UN said Tuesday, as the EU unveiled fresh plans to stem the migrant flow from Africa. Following a rash of deadly shipwrecks that have claimed hundreds of lives, the UN refugee agency said the number of deaths at sea had risen sharply, with ...

  Geneva / AFP Eritrea’s government has systematically committed crimes against humanity in the last 25 years, with top officials bearing direct responsibility, UN investigators said on Wednesday. The second report of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry (COI) on human rights also said there was a “rule of law vacuum” in the secretive Horn of Africa nation. Independent UN ...