Politics

  Copenhagen / AFP European Council President Donald Tusk on Tuesday criticised the former conservative mayor of London Boris Johnson for having “crossed boundaries” by saying the European Union was behaving like Adolf Hitler. “I cannot stay silent,” Tusk told reporters in Copenhagen. Johnson, a leading campaigner for Britain to leave the EU, had “crossed boundaries” of acceptable political debate, Tusk ...

  Manila / AFP Philippine anti-poaching patrols have detained two Chinese and three Vietnamese fishing vessels along with more than three dozen crew members in the extreme north of the country, officials said on Tuesday. The arrests near tiny islands off the main island of Luzon came as a maritime dispute between Manila and Beijing simmers in the South China ...

  Cape Town / AFP A brutal fistfight broke out in the South African parliament Tuesday as security guards ejected opposition lawmakers in an ugly fracas that underlined heightened political tensions over Jacob Zuma’s presidency. About 20 Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party members, who were wrestled from their seats by plain-clothed guards, had refused to let Zuma speak and furiously ...

  Vienna / AFP Austria will appoint its new Chancellor Christian Kern on Tuesday, with the ailing centrist government pinning its hopes on the ex-railway boss to help stem the surge of the far-right. The 50-year-old, renowned for his glowing business achievements and snappy dress sense, is due to be sworn in by President Heinz Fischer . Kern replaces fellow ...

  Hong Kong / AFP One of China’s most powerful officials said he would listen to political demands from Hongkongers in a conciliatory start to a visit on Tuesday that has stirred anger in a city resentful of Beijing’s tightening grip. The three-day trip by Zhang Dejiang, who chairs China’s communist-controlled legislature, is the first by such a senior official ...

  Paris / AFP French President Francois Hollande said on Tuesday the battle against unemployment was not yet won as he vowed to stick with his controversial attempts to reform the labour market. The reforms have sparked two months of street protests and led to an unsuccessful attempt to bring down the government. But Hollande said he placed the need ...

  Vienna / AFP Major powers, including the United States, met in the Austrian capital on Monday to discuss the expanding presence of the IS extremist group in conflict-ridden Libya, just across the Mediterranean from Europe. IS has taken advantage of the chaos left by the toppling and death of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, which led to rival ...

  Baghdad / AP Iraqi security forces and allied fighters launched an operation on Monday to retake the town of Rutba from the IS extremist group, the military said. Special forces, soldiers, police, border guards and pro-government paramilitaries are involved in the operation to retake the Anbar province town, Iraq’s Joint Operations Command said in a statement. Tanks and artillery ...

  JAKARTA / AP Rescuers on Monday found the bodies of six university students who were among nearly two dozen who went missing in rain-triggered floods and landslides at a waterfall in western Indonesia, an official said. The disaster occurred on Sunday as more than 70 students were visiting the Air Terjun Dua Warna waterfall in North Sumatra province. Twenty-one ...

  ISTANBUL / AP A Turkish news agency says Turkish shelling and air strikes by the US-led military coalition killed 27 IS militants in Syria. Citing military sources, the state-run Anadolu agency said the militants were killed on Sunday as they were about to fire rockets toward Turkey. The Turkish border town of Kilis has been pummeled in recent months ...