Politics

EU criticizes Turkey rights, media abuses

  BRUSSELS / AP Turkey’s crackdown on the media and reported human rights abuses are pushing the country further away from Europe even as it hopes to join the European Union, a senior EU official said on Thursday. European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans told EU lawmakers that “the distance between us and Turkey is not decreasing, it is increasing.” “If ...

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Italy fumes over Austria migrant ‘slap’

  Rome / AFP Italy and Austria were set for showdown talks on Thursday as Italian politicians and media reacted furiously to Vienna’s new anti-migrant measures that could close the border between the two countries. Austrian Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka, who has vigorously defended the controversial package which was driven by a surge of the far right, was due in ...

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Yemen suicide bomber targets Aden police chief

  Aden / AFP A suicide bomber targeted the police chief of Yemen’s second city Aden on Thursday in the latest attack against senior officials in the base of the Saudi-backed government, a security official said. The bombing came after loyalist forces backed by a Saudi-led military coalition seized the key southeastern port city of Mukalla and the nearby airport ...

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Israel nuclear reactor defects spark secrecy dilemma

  Jerusalem / AFP Growing safety fears surrounding Israel’s largest but ageing atomic research centre have provoked fresh questions over its future and a dilemma over the secrecy of the country’s alleged nuclear arsenal. Israel, believed to be the Middle East’s sole nuclear power, has long refused to confirm or deny that it has such weapons. The Haaretz newspaper reported ...

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Trump’s ‘woman’s card’ comment sparks uproar

  ATLANTA / AP Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s claim that Hillary Clinton is playing “the woman’s card” has drawn intense backlash, from the Democratic front-runner herself as well as tens of thousands of critics on social media. “If fighting for women’s health care and paid family leave and equal pay is playing the ‘woman card,’ then deal me in,” ...

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India asks Britain to deport biz tycoon

  New Delhi / AP India’s foreign ministry said on Thursday it has asked Britain to deport the embattled former airline boss Vijay Mallya, who faces a money laundering investigation. Mallya, a part-owner of the Force India Formula 1 team who used to run a liquor empire, left India on March 2 owing more than $1 billion and is believed ...

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Serbia poll results on hold after PM, oppn complain

  Belgrade / AFP Serbia’s electoral commission has asked some voters to recast their ballots after both opposition groups and powerful Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, who won by a landside, disputed the regularity of the weekend polls. The repeat votes at 15 polling stations, likely to take place next week, mean the final results of Sunday’s general election will not ...

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Indonesia to host ‘security talks’

  Jakarta / AFP Indonesia hopes next week to secure an agreement with Malaysia and the Philippines on conducting joint military patrols on the high seas where militants have been on a kidnapping spree, an official said on Thursday. The plight of hostages held by the Abu Sayyaf militant group could also be on the agenda when the foreign ministers ...

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South Korea: North failed again with mid-range missile test

  Seoul / AFP North Korea on Thursday tried and failed in what appeared to be its second attempt in two weeks to test a powerful, new medium-range ballistic missile, South Korea’s defence ministry said. A ministry official said the North had fired what was understood to be a Musudan missile at around 6:40 am (2140 GMT Wednesday) from Wonsan ...

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Putin hails first rocket launch from new cosmodrome

  Vostochny / AFP Russia launched the first rocket from its new Vostochny cosmodrome on Thursday, with President Vladimir Putin hailing the event after dressing down officials over a delay caused by a technical glitch. The launch is a major milestone for Russia’s beleaguered space sector, with the new spaceport in the far east of the country touted to mark ...

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