Kuwait City / AFP The Yemeni government delegation is to rejoin UN-brokered peace talks in Kuwait with Shiite rebels who control the capital, ending a four-day boycott, the UN special envoy said on Sunday. The hard-won negotiations on ending a conflict that has killed more than 6,400 people and driven 2.8 million from their homes since March last year ...
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IS extremists’ lasting grip is new hurdle for Europe, USA
PARIS / AP The girl, speaking in the lilting accent of southern France, appeared in government ads describing how she was recruited by IS extremists during her quest for religion, then encouraged to quit school and go to Syria, and finally to plot a suicide attack against a synagogue at home. “I have a hard time even admitting now ...
Read More »Far-right on edge of power as Austria votes for president
Vienna/ AFP Austrians voted on Sunday in a key presidential runoff which could usher in the European Union’s first extreme right-wing leader amid the continent’s worst post-war migrant crisis. A huge influx of asylum-seekers, growing unemployment and frozen reforms have left Austria deeply polarised and driven angry voters away from the centrist ruling coalition toward fringe groups. For the first ...
Read More »7 dead after volcano erupts in western Indonesia
GAMBER / AP The death toll in the eruption of a volcano in western Indonesia rose to seven on Sunday, with two other people in critical condition, as an official warned of more eruptions. Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra province blasted volcanic ash as high as 3 kilometers into the sky on Saturday, said National Disaster Management Agency spokesman ...
Read More »S Korean missionary beaten to death in Philippine home
Manila/ AFP A South Korean missionary was beaten to death in his home in a shocking attack southeast of the Philippine capital, police said on Sunday. Sim Jae-jok had returned from an early morning jog when he discovered an intruder in his kitchen in the town of Taytay on Friday, said Superintendent Samuel Delorino. The intruder knocked the 57-year-old ...
Read More »24 killed as cyclone hits Bangladesh
Chittagong / AFP Thousands of Bangladeshis were left homeless on Sunday after Cyclone Roanu battered the impoverished southern coastal region, ripping apart flimsy houses and killing at least 24 people. The storm on Saturday ploughed through low-lying villages in the Chittagong and Barisal regions, where residents described seeing metres-high walls of water. Many Bangladeshis were returning safely home on ...
Read More »Merkel voices ‘great concern’ over Turkey ahead of visit
Berlin / AFP German Chancellor Angela Merkel said some political developments in Turkey were a source of “great concern†and pledged to address them during a visit to the country on Monday. Merkel said she was ready to discuss “all the important questions†with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan when they meet in Istanbul on the sidelines of a ...
Read More »Kerry urges further reforms in Myanmar to boost democracy
NAYPYIDAW /AP US Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday urged Myanmar’s new civilian-led government to complete the Southeast Asian nation’s transition to democracy by implementing further reforms to enshrine free markets, development and human rights. Speaking with Myanmar’s foreign minister and de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, after talks in the capital of Naypyidaw, Kerry pledged continuing ...
Read More »G7 vows to curb global terror finance; rifts on policy remain
AKIU / AP The Group of Seven major economies showed a united front on fighting terrorist financing and tax evasion, but shied away from coordinated action on policies to revive stalling growth. An “action plan†issued after the talks by G7 finance ministers and central bank governors at a hot springs hotel in northern Japan called for increased exchanges ...
Read More »â€˜Brexit’ in spotlight at meeting in Japan
SYDNEY / AP Britain’s possible exit from the European Union took centre stage at a G7 meeting in Japan on Saturday, as UK finance minister George Osborne warned a ‘Brexit’ could doom trade deals with EU countries. The comments came during two days of talks largely focused on how the club of rich nations can stoke the lumbering world ...
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