Politics

Brussels / AFP Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan heads to the United States for only the second visit of his presidency at a time when relations between the two key NATO allies are severely tested by widening differences over the Syria conflict and human rights. Erdogan, who became president in August 2014 after over a decade as premier, has yet ...

Ankara / AFP Turkey summoned Germany’s ambassador to protest a two-minute song lampooning President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that was broadcast on German television, a diplomatic source said on Tuesday. “We summoned the ambassador last week to communicate our protest about the broadcast that we condemned,” the source said. “We demanded that the broadcast is removed from the air.” German regional ...

Jerusalem / AP Israeli and Turkish officials refused to comment on Tuesday on a report by Britain’s Sky TV that the IS group planned to attack Jewish school children in Turkey. The report came after Israel advised its citizens on Monday to leave Turkey “as soon as possible,” citing the potential for extremist attacks. “Terrorists from the so-called IS have ...

Yangon / AFP Myanmar’s outgoing government on Tuesday lifted a state of emergency in conflict-hit Rakhine, a parting gesture that coincides with turbulent relations between Aung San Suu Kyi’s new administration and the western state’s powerful Buddhist political party. Rahkine is deeply scarred by communal violence between Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims that began in 2012, presenting one of the most ...

Tehran / AFP Austrian President Heinz Fischer has said it is unclear how long it will take for the West to lift sanctions on Iran, in an interview with Iran’s state television news agency IRIB. Iran’s historic agreement with world powers went into force on January 16, ending a 13-year standoff over Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme and lifting punishing sanctions ...

Jakarta / AFP Ten Indonesian sailors have been kidnapped in Philippine waters by militants who have demanded a ransom for their release, a minister said on Tuesday. The crew were travelling on two boats that were transporting coal from Borneo island to the Philippines when they were hijacked, said Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi. It is not clear when the ...

BRUSSELS / AFP The Brussels attacks have pushed security to the forefront of Britain’s EU referendum campaign this week, as intelligence experts came out of the shadows to press the benefits and disadvantages of membership. A claim by the former head of foreign spy agency MI6, Richard Dearlove, that leaving the bloc would have few security implications sparked interventions from ...

Bloomberg Terrorism probes advanced across Europe in the wake of last week’s deadly bombings in Brussels, with suspects arrested in Italy and the Netherlands, and Belgium carrying out police raids in several areas. Belgian prosecutors said late Sunday that an Algerian man being held in Italy is suspected of participating in a ring that produced falsified documents for some of ...

Rio De Janeiro / AFP Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff could see her coalition disintegrate this week amid a political crisis that threatens to topple her government, as a congressional committee ponders impeachment proceedings against her. Already the Brazilian bar association was expected to file a new request on Monday to Congress for her impeachment. But Rousseff’s real troubles begin on ...

Paris / AFP Tens of thousands of homes were without power in northwestern France early on Monday after the region was pounded overnight by winds gusting to hurricane force that also triggered flight cancellations and outages in southern England. Seven counties, in Normandy and Brittany were placed on “orange” alert, the second highest in Meteo-France’s three-stage warning system. At least ...