Politics

  Aleppo / AFP Hundreds of wounded civilians were stranded in rebel-held areas of Syria’s Aleppo on Saturday after the UN said security concerns had prevented evacuation convoys even as Russia extended a ceasefire into a third day. The unilateral “humanitarian pause” in the Syrian army’s devastating Russian-backed assault on the opposition-controlled east of the city has largely held since it ...

  Ankara / AFP Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim warned the EU on Saturday not to forget that Turkey has alternatives to the bloc, whose ties with Ankara have become increasingly strained.He did not say what the alternatives were could be but closer relations between Russia and Ankara has caused concern in the West. “Turkey always has alternatives. Europe should ...

  Dubai / AFP Bahrain will auction the confiscated assets of the main Shiite opposition in the Sunni-ruled Gulf kingdom after it was dissolved over terrorism-related charges, a judicial source said on Saturday. An administrative court on Thursday ordered the auctioning of Al-Wefaq’s assets to be held on October 26, the source said. The group’s dissolution in July drew strong ...

  Kirkuk /AFP Security forces battled for a second day on Saturday with IS gunmen who infiltrated Kirkuk in a brazen raid that rattled Iraq as it ramped up an offensive to retake Mosul. A day after the shock attack on the Kurdish-controlled city, extremist snipers and suspected suicide bombers were still at large, prompting Baghdad to send reinforcements. Special ...

  Baghdad / AFP US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter arrived in Baghdad on Saturday to review the six-day-old offensive to retake Mosul, the IS group’s last major stronghold in Iraq. He will meet commanders from the 60-nation coalition which is led by the United States and assists Iraqi forces in their drive against the extremists. Carter is also due to ...

  Aden /AFP Fierce gun battles erupted overnight between Yemeni rebels and pro-government forces along the border with Saudi Arabia despite a three-day ceasefire due to end late Saturday, military officials said. Warplanes from the Saudi-led coalition fighting in support of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi also bombed suspected Houthi rebel missile launchers east of the capital Sanaa late Friday, a ...

  Jerusalem / AFP The parliamentary chairman of Israel’s ruling coalition has called for a rights group chief who condemned Israeli settlement construction at the United Nations to be stripped of his citizenship. David Bitan, a leading member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party, told Israel’s Channel 2 TV late Friday that he was “examining the legal possibility” ...

  Las Vegas / AFP Turning his final presidential debate appearance into an unprecedented assault on US political convention, Donald Trump refused to say that he would respect a Hillary Clinton victory in November. As the last head-to-head encounter of the toxic 2016 campaign descended into mud-slinging, the Republican mogul doubled down on claims that his Democratic rival’s supporters plan to ...

  Nairobi / AFP A British journalist arrested in Mogadishu while on a reporting assignment has been released by Somalian security forces, his employer Al-Jazeera said on its website on Thursday.Hamza Mohamed was ar rested on Tuesday along with a driver, fixer and cameraman. He had been in the country for a week. Somali authorities had earlier informed Al-Jazeera that they ...

  Yangon / AFP A total of 72 people died when an overloaded ferry sank in central Myanmar, local officials said Thursday, calling for an overhaul of the creaking boats that ply the river as the search effort ended. Scores of teachers, students and workers were packed into the crowded boat when it capsized in the early hours of Saturday as ...