Politics

  London / AFP ABBA star Bjorn Ulvaeus and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger were among 140 European celebrities who signed a “love letter to the British people” on Thursday, hoping they will stay in the EU. The letter, also signed by Dutch film director Paul Verhoeven, French former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier and French-American actress Julie Delpy, comes with exactly ...

  Brussels / AFP European Council President Donald Tusk urged Europeans to abandon dreams of a federal Europe as these will only stoke the rise of anti-EU populists. The former Polish prime minister, who presides over EU leaders summits, made the comments three weeks before Britain votes in a June 23 referendum on EU membership. “There is no worse prospect ...

  PARIS / AP Floods inundating parts of France, Germany and Belgium have killed five people and trapped thousands in homes or cars, as rivers have broken their banks from Paris to Bavaria. And it isn’t over — more rain is forecast for the coming days in some regions, and authorities in the French capital predict the Seine River won’t reach ...

  Caracas / AFP Venezuela’s opposition learns on Thursday whether authorities will let them proceed with efforts to call a referendum on removing President Nicolas Maduro, whom they blame for the country’s fall from booming oil giant to basket case. The National Electoral Board (CNE) must accept or reject an initial petition with 1.8 million signatures endorsing a recall vote ...

  Kabul / AFP Gunmen on Thursday kidnapped at least 17 people travelling in civilian vehicles in northern Afghanistan, officials said, in the second group abduction within a week, underscoring the worsening security situation in the country. The passengers, all minority Hazaras, were pulled out of their vehicles in Sancharak district in Sar-e-Pul province and taken to a remote area ...

  Vienna / AFP Saudi Arabia expressed confidence on Thursday that oil prices will keep recovering, cementing expectations that a divided OPEC will decide to keep crude gushing at its meeting in Vienna. “Everybody is very satisfied with the market. The market is rebalancing as we speak,” said Khaled Al Falih, newly appointed by the kingdom’s powerful and dynamic new ...

  Jakarta / AFP Indonesia’s defence minister said on Thursday suspected communists killed in 1960s military-backed massacres “deserved to die”, as a backlash mounts against efforts to resolve one of the darkest chapters in the country’s history. Hardline ex-general Ryamizard Ryacudu made the comments to a gathering of former military figures and nationalist groups convened in response to moves by ...

  Manila / AFP The leader of the Philippines’ communist insurgency said on Thursday he expects to end nearly 30 years in exile by returning from Europe to Manila as early as next month. While running for office last month, Rodrigo Duterte, now the newly elected president, said Jose Maria Sison, the rebel leader and Communist Party of the Philippines ...

  DUSHANBE / AP Officials from China’s traditionally Muslim region of Xinjiang say they will not interfere with fasting and other standard religious activities during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. The officials said at a news conference on Thursday that restaurants will be allowed to keep their own hours and activities in mosques and homes will be legally protected. ...

  Paris / AFP France will accept 400 refugees per month from Greece as part of the EU relocation deal it signed last year, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on Thursday. “This week, as part of the relocation, 97 additional refugees have arrived in France coming from Greece and Italy,” Cazeneuve said in a statement, adding that another 253 were ...