Politics

Brussels / AFP A vast police operation was under way in Brussels on Wednesday after a Kalashnikov-wielding assailant was killed and four officers wounded during an anti-terror search linked to the Paris attacks. Federal prosecutors were to hold a news conference at 0930 GMT amid widespread media reports that two suspects were either arrested or still on the run, possibly ...

Brussels / AFP European leaders launch a charm offensive to win backing for a migrant deal with Turkey on Wednesday, seeking to heal rifts between member states on the eve of a key summit with Ankara. EU president Donald Tusk warned that hard work lay ahead to finalise the deal, after Cyprus threatened to derail it over long-standing disagreements with ...

Sydney / AFP A second piece of debris found on the Indian Ocean island of La Reunion was “unlikely to be from an aircraft”, Australian authorities leading the search for missing flight MH370 said Wednesday. The only part of the missing Boeing 777, which vanished two years ago with 239 passengers and crew on board, that has so far been ...

Islamabad / AFP Pakistan’s top court on Wednesday ordered the government to lift a travel ban on former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, a move that could let him leave the country while awaiting trial for treason. Musharraf’s lawyers say he needs to go abroad for urgent spinal treatment not available in Pakistan. He was placed on the “Exit Control List” ...

Ankara / AFP Sunday’s suicide car bombing in Ankara has raised fears of an escalation in Turkey’s long-running Kurdish conflict, as the country grapples with the IS threat while relying on a security system weakened by a political crackdown, analysts say. No-one has claimed responsibility for the blast which killed 35 people in the heart of the Turkish capital, but ...

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 ...