Politics

  Berlin / AFP Four German police officers were wounded, some of them seriously, when a member of the far-right “Citizens of the Reich” group opened fire during a raid Wednesday, authorities said. The 49-year-old alleged gunman belonging to the so-called Reichsbuerger movement was also slightly injured in the exchange of gunfire in the Bavarian town of Georgensmuend and taken ...

  Manila / AFP Visiting Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte had praise for China on Wednesday, setting aside a maritime dispute as the combative leader reconfigures his country’s diplomatic alliances. The Asian giant was “good”, he said. “It has never invaded a piece of my country all these generations,” Duterte added in an apparent comparison to the Philippines’ former colonial ruler the ...

  Bangkok / AFP Thai “cyber-scouts” have flagged scores of websites for alleged royal defamation since the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and are monitoring all communication channels, a junta official said on Wednesday. A crackdown on perceived royal insults has been enforced following the king’s death last Thursday, which has plunged the nation into mourning for a beloved monarch. ...

  Hong Kong / AFP Hong Kong’s legislature again descended into chaos on Wednesday as pro-Beijing politicians blocked the swearing in of two new lawmakers who want a split from China, in an increasingly divided parliament. It comes as fears grow in the semi-autonomous city that Beijing is tightening its grip, fuelling an independence movement in Hong Kong. Wednesday saw rival ...

  Moscow / AFP Moscow announced on Tuesday that Russian and Syrian air forces have stopped bombing Aleppo ahead of a brief truce, a move the Kremlin said showed “goodwill” as it faces mounting criticism for backing a brutal regime offensive. Russia had said Monday there would be an eight-hour “humanitarian pause” in the battered city on Thursday, a move welcomed ...

  Mogadishu / AFP Fighting between Somali troops and Al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab fighters was ongoing on Tuesday in the key town of Afgoye, some 30 kilometres (18 miles) northwest of the capital Mogadishu, a security source and a witness said. “There is heavy fighting going on at several bases in Afgoye district and one of the bases was attacked with a ...

  New Delhi / AFP Three staff at an Indian hospital have been suspended after a deadly blaze in the intensive care unit, authorities said on Tuesday, as the toll from the disaster rose to 20.Fire broke out on Monday night in the dialysis ward of the hospital in eastern Odisha state before quickly spreading to other floors, killing 19 ...

  Berlin /AFP Russian President Vladimir Putin heads to Berlin on Wednesday for a summit focussing on escalating tensions between Moscow and the West over the Kremlin’s strategy in Ukraine and Syria. The meeting—the first in a year between the Russian, German, French and Ukrainian leaders—will “evaluate the implementation” of the Minsk peace accords for Ukraine, Berlin and Paris said ...

  United Nations / AFP The UN Security Council on Monday denounced North Korea’s latest test of a powerful missile that one leading US expert warned could be put into operational service as early as next year. North Korea test-fired the medium-range Musudan—capable of hitting US bases as far away as Guam—on Saturday. Although the exercise was a failure, with ...

  Chíos /AFP Standing with a group of children outside a refugee camp on the Greek island of Chios, little Roza can’t wait to get an early start to her day. “Good school, good school!” she beams, her backpack on and pigtails bobbing. Roza, a Syrian Kurd, is one of a small group of children in Greece’s island camps fortunate ...