Politics

  Rome / AFP An Indian national was amongst two people who died after the outskirts of Rome were hit by a tornado powerful enough to uproot trees, overturn cars and damage buildings, Italian authorities said on Monday. Schools were closed and a clean-up operation was underway in Ladispoli, a coastal town west of Rome where the whirlwind hit on ...

  Jakarta / AFP The Indonesian capital’s Christian governor faced a marathon police grilling on Monday for allegedly insulting Islam, after the accusations sparked a violent mass protest by hardliners in the Muslim-majority country. Friday’s demonstration started peacefully but descended into chaos as night fell with protesters torching police cars and hurling rocks and bottles in the heart of Jakarta, ...

  MONT PELERIN / AFP A deal to unify Cyprus is within reach, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said on Monday as he opened talks aimed at resolving one of the world’s longest running political crises. The Mediterranean resort island has been split since 1974, when Turkish troops occupied its northern third in response to an Athens-inspired coup seeking union with Greece. ...

  Muzaffarabad / AFP Pakistan accused India of killing three people including a policeman and wounding four others in cross-border firing on Monday, at a time of heightened tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals. The incidents occurred near the border dividing Indian-held Kashmir from the Pakistani sector of the territory. “A policeman, a man and a woman were killed when Indian ...

  Hong Kong /AFP Hong Kong’s leader said on Monday he would “fully implement” a landmark ruling by Beijing which effectively bars two pro-independence lawmakers from the city’s legislature, in a crisis that heightens fears the rule of law is under threat. It is the latest chapter of political turmoil for the semi-autonomous city as fears grow that China is ...

  Berlin/ AFP German prosecutors said on Monday they have launched a probe after receiving a complaint alleging that top Facebook bosses including founder Mark Zuckerberg are condoning hate speech, as pressure grows on the social network to clamp down on racist content. The probe comes as top politicians are ratcheting up warnings against the US group, with the German ...

  Ain Issa/ AFP A US-backed Kurdish-Arab alliance launched an offensive on Sunday on the IS group’s de facto Syrian capital Raqa, upping pressure on the extremists after Iraqi forces entered their Iraqi bastion Mosul. “The major battle to liberate Raqa and its surroundings has begun,” Jihan Sheikh Ahmed, a spokeswoman for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), said at a press ...

  Kirkuk /AFP Suicide bombings claimed by the IS group killed at least 18 people and wounded more than 30 in two cities north of Baghdad on Sunday, officials said. One bomber detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle at the southern entrance to Tikrit, while the other blew up an ambulance in Samarra, the officials said. Jassem Al-Jbara, the head of Salaheddin ...

  Aden / AFP Fresh clashes in two different parts of Yemen on Sunday killed 14 pro-Iran rebels and six fighters loyal to the internationally recognised government, military officials said. Among them was loyalist General Yehia al-Khayati who died at a Saudi hospital where he was taken after being wounded in clashes in Midi, a northwestern town close to the Saudi ...

  Mosul / AFP Iraqi forces battled extremists inside Mosul for the third day running on Sunday while civilians risked their lives dodging bombs and snipers to slip out of the city. The IS group put up fierce resistance to defend the city it seized more than two years ago and also claimed responsibility for deadly suicide attacks further south. ...