Politics

  Moscow / AFP Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Tuesday announced he would run for president in 2018 after a court victory allowed the outspoken Kremlin critic to be a candidate. In an email sent to supporters, the 40-year-old anti-corruption campaigner said: “Presidential polls will take place in our country in 2018 and I have decided to take part in ...

  Beijing / AFP China offered its sternest rebuke yet to Donald Trump, saying anyone who challenges Beijing’s interests in Taiwan will “lift a rock only to crush his own toes”. “If he tries to sabotage the One China policy or harm China’s core interests, ultimately he will lift a rock only to crush his own toes,” Chinese foreign minister Wang ...

  Manila / AFP China is ready to give the Philippines weapons to help President Rodrigo Duterte wage his controversial war on drugs which has claimed over 5,000 lives, the Chinese ambassador to Manila said. Beijing has previously said it supports Duterte’s bloody crime war, which has been slammed by the United Nations and human rights watchdogs over alleged extrajudicial ...

  London / AFP Hundreds of thousands of British commuters faced travel chaos on Tuesday as train drivers went on strike in what is expected to be the worst rail disruption in decades. Southern Rail, which runs trains between England’s south coast and London, warned of severe disruption as it cancelled more than 2,000 services after workers launched three days of ...

  Beirut / AFP The UN said on Tuesday it had credible reports of pro-government forces in Syria’s Aleppo executing dozens of civilians including women and children as the crucial battle for the city neared its end. The UN human rights office said at least 82 civilians, including 11 women and 13 children, had been killed in recent days. UN rights ...

  Ankara / AFP Turkey will intensify talks with Russia and other countries for a ceasefire to end the “humanitarian tragedy” in the Syrian city of Aleppo, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday. “Today, tomorrow, everyday, we will intensify our talks with Russia and other countries so we can find a solution to this humanitarian tragedy,” Cavusoglu said at a ...

  Ankara/ AFP Turkish police detained two more pro-Kurdish lawmakers hours after arresting over 200 people accused of links to Kurdish militants, their party said early Tuesday. The two women, Caglar Demirel and Besime Konca, who represent the southeastern Kurdish-majority cities of Diyarbakir and Siirt respectively, were held as part of a sweeping anti-terror probe, state news agency Anadolu said. ...

  Aleppo / AFP Once renowned for its bustling souks, grand citadel and historic gates, Aleppo’s Old City has been rendered virtually unrecognisable by some of the worst violence of Syria’s war. For centuries, Aleppo was Syria’s economic and cultural powerhouse, attracting tourists from around the world to its celebrated heritage sites. But now, only gaunt stray cats roam the rubble-strewn ...

  Seoul / AFP Senior US, Japanese and South Korean officials with special responsibility for the North Korean nuclear issue held talks on Tuesday, at a time of political flux and policy uncertainty in Washington and Seoul. “We shared the view that it is more important than ever to keep close cooperation among the three countries,” South Korea’s nuclear envoy Kim ...

  Sanaa/ AFP Nearly 2.2 million Yemeni children are acutely malnourished, victims of the near-collapse of the health care system during two years of escalating conflict, UN children’s fund UNICEF said on Tuesday. At least 462,000 are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, as food supplies have been disrupted by the devastating war between the Saudi-backed government and Shiite rebels, the agency ...