Politics

  Tbilisi / AFP Georgians voted on Saturday in bitterly contested parliamentary polls that have sparked fears of political instability in the Caucasus nation, with two pro-Western parties tied after a fraught campaign. The knife-edge elections see the ruling Georgian Dream party, led from behind the scenes by billionaire ex-PM Bidzina Ivanishvili, grappling with the United National Movement (UNM), founded ...

Budapest / AFP Hungary’s biggest opposition newspaper has been suspended, its owner said on Saturday, stoking concerns about media freedom under right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The opposition Socialists called the halting of Nepszabadsag’s print and online operations was a “black day for the press” and called a demonstration outside the paper’s offices at 1600 GMT. Owners Mediaworks said however ...

  Srinagar / AFP Indian-administered Kashmir’s main city came under curfew again after thousands clashed with government forces during the funeral of boy killed in protests, police said on Saturday. Police and paramilitary troops fired tear gas, pellets and live rounds into the air to disperse the funeral procession of the 12-year-old as his body was carried to Srinagar’s “Martyr’s ...

  Vilnius / AFP Russia is again deploying nuclear-capable Iskander missiles into its Kaliningrad outpost bordering two NATO members, Lithuania said on Saturday, warning the move was aimed at pressuring the West into making concessions over Syria and Ukraine. “Russia is holding military exercises in Kaliningrad, and its scenario includes deployment of Iskander missile systems and the possibile use of ...

Beirut / AFP Syrian government forces advanced against rebels inside Aleppo on Thursday, making their biggest gains in the ravaged city in years just hours after announcing they would ease their air bombardment. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said loyalist fighters now controlled around half of the Bustan al-Basha district near the centre of the divided metropolis. “It’s the ...

  Beirut / AP The UN envoy for Syria has urged Al Qaida-linked fighters in the rebel-held eastern parts of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo to leave the area. Staffan de Mistura also asked Russian and Syrian forces if they would immediately stop their “aerial bombing” of Aleppo, providing militants from the Fatah Al Sham Front group — formerly ...

  Ankara / AFP Turkey insisted on Thursday that its troops will remain in Iraq despite Baghdad’s growing anger ahead of a planned operation to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from IS extremists. Baghdad has accused Ankara of risking a regional war by keeping its forces inside Iraq, with the dispute complicating plans for the ambitious American-backed Mosul operation. ...

  Washington / AFP Recruits into the IS group are better educated than their average countryman, contrary to popular belief, according to a new World Bank study. Moreover, those offering to become suicide bombers ranked on average in the more educated group, said the newly released study titled “Economic and Social Inclusion to Prevent Violent Extremism”. The study, which aimed ...

  United Nations / AFP The Security Council on Thursday unanimously backed Antonio Guterres, the former prime minister of Portugal who was the UN’s refugee chief for a decade, to be the next secretary-general. During a closed-door meeting, the 15 council members adopted a resolution formally presenting Guterres as their choice to be the world’s diplomat-in-chief. Applause rang out in ...

  Rome / AFP Departing UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday hailed his likely successor Antonio Guterres as a “superb choice”, ahead of the former Portuguese prime minister’s expected backing by the Security Council. “I know Mr Guterres very well and consider him a superb choice,” Ban, who has served as UN chief since January 2007, said in Rome, ...