Politics

BEIRUT / AP One of the main Western-backed Syrian opposition groups elected a new leader after the term of its former chief ended, it said in a statement. The Turkey-based Syrian National Coalition said longtime member Anas Al Abda was elected president, replacing Khaled Khoja. It added that three other officials from the group have been named vice presidents. The ...

Seoul/ AFP South Korea will soon announce its own tougher sanctions on North Korea, an official said on Sunday, a move set to further heighten tensions as Seoul and Washington begin their largest-ever joint military exercise. The new measures—following Wednesday’s decision by the UN Security Council to slap unprecedented sanctions on the North—will be announced this week, a Seoul government ...

COLOMBO / AP With most opposition leaders in jail or exile, public protests tightly controlled and courts rendering verdicts decried for lack of due process, the Maldives has nearly slid back to where it was eight years ago: an autocratic state that quashes dissent. Since assuming power in this Indian Ocean archipelago nation of luxurious seaside resorts just over two ...

Manila / AFP The Philippine coastguard said it was closely watching a North Korean vessel and its 21 crew members on Sunday, as officials waited for a response from the United Nations days after the ship was seized in compliance with new sanctions. The 6,830-tonne cargo ship, the Jin Teng, is being held at Subic port, northeast of Manila, where ...

Beirut / AP A shaky cease-fire in Syria brokered by Moscow and Washington has survived its first week, outlasting skeptics’ expectations and providing some hope that a diplomatic solution to the five-year-old war might be possible. With daily incidents of artillery shelling, airstrikes and clashes, it would be easy to dismiss the “cessation of hostilities” as a charade. But the ...

Istanbul / AFP Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has suggested building a new city in northern Syria to house some of the millions of refugees escaping the country’s civil war, reports said on Saturday. Erdogan said in a speech in Istanbul that the new city would be located near the Turkish border and said he had even discussed the idea ...

Beirut / AP Lebanon’s trash collection crisis, which sent thousands protesting into the streets last summer, is now in its eight month with still no resolution in sight. Though it has prompted political debates and occasional heated discussions, Lebanese doctors and medical professionals are increasingly alarmed by its effect on health. At the emergency room at the Sacre Coeur hospital ...

Istanbul / AFP Turkish authorities were on Saturday in control of a newspaper staunchly opposed to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after using tear gas and water cannon to seize its headquarters in a dramatic raid that raised fresh alarm over declining media freedoms. Police fired the tear gas and water cannon just before midnight on Friday at a hundreds-strong crowd ...

AL ISSAWIYAH / AP In this Syrian mountain village perched above the Mediterranean, residents say they have enjoyed a measure of peace, even though they live near a border that has seen escalating tensions in recent months between Turkey and Russia. The villagers, most of whom are members of Syria’s Turkmen ethnic minority, have formed their own militia, but they ...

Bloomberg Slovaks are voting in a general election that looks set to hand a third term to Prime Minister Robert Fico, who’s pledging to raise living standards in the eastern euro-area member and protect its citizens from the European Union’s migrant crisis. Having presided over booming growth, Fico’s Smer party holds a strong lead in opinion polls. His support has ...