Politics

Geneva / AFP A Syrian opposition group that is close to Russia and tolerated by Damascus will meet UN envoy Staffan de Mistura at peace talks in Geneva, a delegation member said on Wednesday. “We received an invitation to take part in the Geneva talks,” said Fateh Jamous, a member of the so-called Moscow Group, which includes ex-Syrian deputy prime ...

Gaziantep / AFP Borders are slamming shut and European leaders are desperately trying to stem the flow of migrants to their shores—but near the Turkey-Syrian border, Mohammed Bilal is still dreaming of Real Madrid. The 23-year-old from Syria’s war-torn Aleppo province was a promising footballer in his homeland and he still hopes to make it big, despite the European Union’s ...

Youngstown / AFP Americans in five major states prepared to vote on Tuesday in make-or-break presidential nominating contests, with Donald Trump seeking to tighten his grip on the Republican mantle as rivals and critics bemoaned a weekend of campaign trail unrest. Dubbed “Super Tuesday 2” by US media, the latest major date in the run-up to November’s election will see ...

Paris / AFP Rising sea levels driven by climate change could upend the lives of more than 13 million Americans by the end of the century, according to a study released Monday. If global warming lifts oceans 1.8 metres (six feet) by 2100, as some scientists forecast in worst-case scenarios, 13.1 million people living in US coastal areas will become ...

Bloomberg Russia said its forces have started leaving Syria after President Vladimir Putin ordered the military withdrawal in a surprise move that puts pressure on the regime of Bashar Al Assad and opposition groups to reach a peace deal at talks in Geneva. The first group of planes, including Su-34 bombers, have returned to bases in Russia, the Defense Ministry ...

Dushanbe / AFP Russia and fragile ex-Soviet ally Tajikistan have begun large-scale military drills close to the Central Asian state’s restless border with Afghanistan, a Tajik military official confirmed Tuesday. A spokesman for Tajikistan’s defence ministry said the drills involving around 50,000 Tajik troops and 2,000 Russian troops, including paratroopers flown in from Russia. “The manoeuvres involve around a thousand ...

Idomeni / AFP Some 700 refugees and migrants were being held in Macedonia on Tuesday after they managed to slip across the border from Greece, a frontier that has been shut for a week. Dozens of others who failed to cross were returning to the overflowing Idomeni camp on the Greek side, where some 14,000 people are stuck in increasing ...

Naypyidaw / AFP Myanmar’s lawmakers on Tuesday elected a close aide and longtime friend of Aung San Suu Kyi to become the first civilian president in decades, a historic moment for the formerly junta-run nation. Htin Kyaw, 69, hailed his elevation to the top post as “Suu Kyi’s victory”, a clear nod to her plan that he serve as a ...

London / AFP Kurdish rebel leader Cemil Bayik warned Turkey to expect payback for the deadly clashes that have raged following the collapse of a fragile truce, in an interview published in Britain’s Times daily on Tuesday. Bayik, one of the leaders of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), said to expect fighting “everywhere” and insisted its guerillas were justified ...

United Nations / AFP UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon angrily told Morocco’s foreign minister that protests organized in Rabat against his remarks on Western Sahara were disrespectful. Ban “expressed his deep disappointment and anger regarding the demonstration that was mobilized on Sunday, which targeted him in person,” said a UN statement released after his meeting with Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar in ...