Politics

Damascus / AFP Syria’s regime agreed on Tuesday to a ceasefire deal announced by the United States and Russia, but there were widespread doubts it could take effect by the weekend as hoped. The agreement, announced on Monday, does not apply to extremists like the IS group and Al-Nusra Front, putting up major hurdles to how it can be implemented ...

Moscow / AFP A ruthless and corrupt leader with his own private army who has carved out de facto independence for his restive region: Russia’s opposition on Tuesday lashed out at Chechen strongman leader Ramzan Kadyrov in a new report. The report—authored by prominent opposition figure Ilya Yashin and entitled “National security threat”—alleges that Kadyrov has been allowed by President ...

KUWAIT CITY / AFP The scene US forces encountered as they pushed into Kuwait in 1991 to end the Iraqi occupation could only be described as a hellscape. Hundreds of burning oil wells set ablaze by Iraq’s army had left sand sodden in an oily sludge and the skies overhead choked with thick black smoke. As they fled, Saddam Hussein’s ...

Idomeni / AFP Greece said on Monday it was taking action to persuade Macedonia to take in Afghan migrants as thousands remained stranded at the border and the main port in Athens. “We have begun diplomatic moves… we believe the problem will be resolved,” junior interior minister for migration Yiannis Mouzalas told parliamentary television, without elaborating on what steps were ...

Kandahar / AFP Afghan troops have retreated from two districts in the southern province of Helmand, officials said on Monday, a move which highlights the challenge from Taliban fighters in the opium-producing region. “The Afghan army retreated from two army bases in Musa Qala and one base from Nawzad district” on Saturday, provincial governor Khan Rahimi said, leaving no troops ...

New Delhi / AFP Much of New Delhi’s water supply was cut off on Monday after members of an influential Indian caste sabotaged a canal as part of protests seeking preferential treatment that have killed at least 19 people. A representative of the Jat caste said they had called off their week-long protests which saw thousands of troops deployed in ...

Kampala / AFP Uganda’s main opposition leader was held by police on Monday at a police station outside the capital after being taken from his home where he had been under house arrest. Kizza Besigye has rejected the results of Thursday’s election won by veteran President Yoweri Museveni, and called on his supporters to join a protest march to the ...

Ankara / AFP Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Monday announced a multi-million-dollar aid package for the country’s struggling tourism industry which has been hit by a crisis with Russia and security concerns. Davutoglu said that a total of 255 million Turkish lira ($86.5 million) in financial aid would be given to Turkish tourist agencies while there would also be ...

London / Bloomberg David Cameron will make the case for staying in the EU to Parliament after London Mayor Boris Johnson became the highest-profile figure to say he’ll campaign for Britain to quit the 28-nation bloc, sending the pound plummeting. Cameron is due to address lawmakers in the House of Commons on the reform deal he struck with fellow European ...

London / Bloomberg The pound fell the most since May 2010 after London Mayor Boris Johnson, one of the U.K.’s most popular politicians, said he’ll campaign for Britain to leave the European Union in a June referendum. Sterling dropped at least 1.1 percent against all its 16 major peers, reversing a gain made on Friday when Prime Minister David Cameron ...