Politics

  United Nations / AFP Rights group Amnesty International on Thursday accused Sudanese government forces of killing scores of civilians, including many children, in suspected chemical weapons attacks in a mountainous area of war-torn Darfur. More than 30 such attacks are believed to have been carried out on several villages as part of a massive military campaign against rebels in Darfur’s ...

  Geneva / AFP The United Nations described on Thursday a desperate situation in Syria’s rebel-held eastern Aleppo, warning “hundreds” needed medical evacuation and that there was only enough food aid left for a quarter of the city’s population. “Utmost on our mind is the need to address the very concerning medical situation” in the east of Aleppo, UN deputy envoy ...

  Ankara / AFP Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested on Thursday it may be necessary to keep the state of emergency imposed after the July coup bid in place for at least a year. His comments came a day after he chaired Turkey’s top national security body which called for the current state of emergency to be extended when it ...

  Oslo / AFP Norway’s Rafto Prize for human rights was on Thursday awarded to Yanar Mohammed of Iraq for her efforts to help minorities and women subjected to sexual abuse in the war-torn country, the jury said. Mohammed, 55, a journalist and feminist fighting for democratic principles and human rights, is the co-founder and head of the Organisation of ...

Riyadh / AP Saudi Arabia could reduce valuable security and intelligence cooperation with longstanding ally Washington after a Congressional “stab in the back” allowing 9/11 victims to sue the kingdom, experts warn. Cutting such cooperation is among the options available to Riyadh after Congress voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to override President Barack Obama’s veto of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism ...

  Sofia / AFP Bulgaria on Wednesday switched its candidate to be the next head of the United Nations, shaking up the race to succeed Ban Ki-moon when he steps down on December 31. Sofia is now throwing its weight behind European Commission Vice President Kristalina Georgieva, dumping UNESCO chief Irina Bokova after she came a lowly sixth in the ...

  New Delhi / AFP A key South Asian summit was in doubt on Wednesday after India and three other countries pulled out following a deadly attack on an army base that New Delhi blames on a Pakistan-based group. India has sought to isolate Pakistan in the wake of the raid on its base in the disputed region of Kashmir, ...

  Brussels / AFP The EU said on Wednesday it hopes to move the remaining 30,000 eligible refugees out of Greece by the end of next year, but appears set to fall far short of its plan to share 160,000 migrants around the bloc. The European Commission insisted there had been “important progress” despite so far only 5,651 refugees having been ...

  Jalalabad / AFP Civilians were among at least 18 people killed in a US air strike against IS extremists in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, officials said, with conflicting claims about the number of civilian deaths. The attack happened in Achin district, a hotbed of IS insurgents in Nangarhar province near the border with Pakistan, as local residents gathered to welcome ...

  Geneva / AFP Women in Switzerland will likely need to work for a year longer, after the lower house of parliament voted Wednesday to extend their retirement age to 65. Following the example of the upper house, the lower house of parliament overwhelmingly voted to require women to work up to the age of 65 before receiving a full retirement, ...