Politics

  Sanaa / AP Yemen’s Houthi rebels and their allies have agreed to join delayed peace talks in Kuwait after the United Nations assured them that pro-government forces would abide by a ceasefire. The UN-brokered talks were set to open in Kuwait on Monday but were put off after the Iran-backed insurgents failed to show up over alleged Saudi violations ...

  Juba / AFP Fragile hopes for an end to South Sudan’s civil war are being tested by the rebel leader’s failure to return to the capital to form a unity government. International pressure is growing after Riek Machar, a former rebel leader turned deputy president who was fired, became a rebel leader again and has now fought his way ...

  Jerusalem / AFP When word spread that the Ahava cosmetics firm would move its factory from the occupied West Bank, it set off alarm bells among Israelis for reasons nothing to do with its products. There were suspicions that Ahava, which sells Dead Sea minerals and mud around the world, had made the decision because of mounting pressure to ...

  New York / AFP Billionaire Donald Trump and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton won sweeping victories in the New York primary, bolstering their bids to secure the Republican and Democratic nominations for the White House. It was the most decisive New York primary in decades and leaves self-styled democratic socialist Bernie Sanders with a tough decision on how ...

  PARIS / AP France’s presidency says that President Barack Obama will meet with French, British, Italian and German leaders in Hannover next week for discussions expected to touch on IS, Libya and migration. The statement released Wednesday gave few details except that Obama, French leader Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Britain’s David Cameron and Italy’s Matteo Renzi would ...

  Rome / AFP Austria will reintroduce controls along its border with Italy unless the migrant flow through the area is drastically reduced, Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz warned in an interview. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi last week insisted Italy was not facing an “invasion” after a spike in migrant boat crossings from Libya exacerbated fears it could become the ...

  Brussels / AFP NATO and Russia ran up against “profound disagreements” over Ukraine and other issues as their ambassadors met on Wednesday for the first time since 2014, alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg said. The two sides agreed to keep communicating following the meeting of the NATO-Russia Council, which has been on ice since the alliance cut practical ties with ...

  Berlin / AFP Germany asked neighbouring Belgium on Wednesday to temporarily shutter two ageing nuclear plants near their border over safety concerns. Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks requested that the 40-year-old Tihange 2 and Doel 3 reactors be turned off “until the resolution of outstanding security issues”. The reactor pressure vessels at both sites have shown signs of metal degradation, ...

  Brasília / AFP Brazil’s Supreme Court was due to rule on Wednesday on whether former leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva can take up his post as chief advisor to embattled President Dilma Rousseff. The top panel’s decision is expected just days after lawmakers overwhelmingly authorized impeachment proceedings against Rousseff, plunging Brazil into deep political crisis. Rousseff had named ...

  London / AFP US President Barack Obama will be thrust into the eye of a boisterous British debate over European Union membership when he touches down in London on Thursday for a royal-filled visit. The US president’s four-day trip—perhaps his last to Britain before leaving office next year—comes ahead of a June 23 referendum when Britons will be asked ...