Politics

  Kinshasa / AFP Hopes of a deal to end DR Congo’s dangerous political crisis before Christmas were faltering on Saturday after fruitless all-night talks over President Joseph Kabila’s refusal to quit power. Kabila’s second and final five-year term ended on December 20, but he has shown no intention of leaving office soon, sparking violent protests that have left at ...

  United Nations / AFP The UN Security Council demanded that Israel halt settlements in Palestinian territory, after the United States refrained from vetoing a resolution condemning its closest Middle East ally. In a rare and momentous step, the United States instead abstained, enabling the adoption of the first UN resolution since 1979 to condemn Israel over its settlement policy. ...

  Jerusalem / AFP Israel scrambled on Saturday to contain the fallout from the UN Security Council vote to halt settlements in Palestinian territory after lashing out at US President Barack Obama over the “shameful” resolution. By deciding not to veto the move, the US took a rare step that deeply angered Israel, which accused Obama of abandoning its closest ...

  Aleppo / AFP Syrian troops strengthened their hold over Aleppo after retaking full control of the city, as residents anxious to return to their homes moved through its ruined streets. The army announced on Thursday it had recaptured the former rebel stronghold of east Aleppo following a landmark evacuation deal that saw thousands of opposition fighters and residents bussed ...

  Brussels / AFP A high-level commission that oversees Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers will meet in Vienna on January 10 to address a complaint by Teheran about the renewing of sanctions by the United States. The meeting was called on Saturday by the European Union’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, who coordinates follow-up of the nuclear deal for ...

  Aleppo / AFP More than 4,000 fighters left rebel-held areas of Aleppo, the Red Cross said on Thursday, in the “last stages” of an evacuation clearing the way for Syria’s army to retake the city. A week into the rebel withdrawal from the east of Syria’s second city, the evacuation of fighters and civilians from the one-time opposition stronghold ...

  United Nations / AFP The UN General Assembly agreed to set up a panel to gather evidence on war crimes in Syria, taking a first step towards prosecuting those responsible for atrocities in the nearly six-year war. A resolution on establishing the investigative mechanism was adopted in the 193-nation assembly by a vote of 105 to 15, with 52 ...

  Moscow/ AFP Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called for the country to reinforce its military nuclear potential and praised the army’s performance in its Syria campaign. In a speech that recapped military activities in 2016, Putin said the army’s preparedness has “considerably increased” and called for continued improvement that would ensure it can “neutralise any military threat”. “We ...

  Moscow / AFP Russia’s defence minister on Thursday accused the British army of using Russian insignia to designate the enemy during training, a method he said was employed by Nazi Germany during World War II. Minister Sergei Shoigu said that British troops at the Salisbury Plain training facility “have started to use Russian-made tanks and uniforms of the Russian ...

  Lubumbashi / AFP Soldiers sealed part of DR Congo’s second city and carried out mass arrests of young men on Thursday, residents said, as talks to defuse the country’s explosive political crisis were set to continue. Protests and deadly clashes have erupted in the vast country over President Joseph Kabila’s refusal to step down at the end of his ...