Politics

  Manila / AFP Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday invited the United Nations’ chief and international human rights experts to investigate allegations of widespread extrajudicial killings, but insisted they also face him in a public debate. The acid-tongued Duterte had earlier used vulgar language to dismiss criticism from the two organisations and the United States of his bloody war on ...

  Kabul / AFP Afghanistan on Thursday signed a peace agreement with notorious warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, paving the way for him to make a political comeback despite a history of war crimes and after years in hiding. Hekmatyar, who heads the now largely dormant Hezb-i-Islami militant group, is the latest in a series of controversial figures that Kabul has sought to ...

  Rosetta / AFP Dozens of migrants were feared dead on Thursday after their overloaded fishing boat capsized off Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, as authorities arrested four suspected traffickers following the tragedy that killed at least 42 people. The latest in a string of disasters to hit those undertaking the perilous sea crossing to Europe saw hundreds of mainly African migrants thrown ...

  Aleppo / AFP Intense air raids shook Syria’s Aleppo on Wednesday as increasing tensions between Moscow and Washington poisoned efforts to revive a failed ceasefire. The UN Security Council is meeting for talks on salvaging the truce — which collapsed on Monday after only a week — but the mood was likely to be tense after the United States ...

  Aden / AFP Heavy fighting between Yemeni government forces and Shiite rebels for control of the heights overlooking the strategic Bab Al Mandab strait has left 17 combatants dead, the loyalist commander said on Wednesday. The waterway connects the Suez Canal and Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean beyond and is a major shipping lane. ...

  Tehran/ AFP Iran showed off missiles, warplanes, tanks and marching troops on Wednesday in a display of military strength in the face of growing regional tensions. The Islamic republic used the 36th anniversary of the start of the Iran-Iraq war to parade arms including 16 ballistic missiles through Tehran. A new missile with multiple warheads, called Zolfaghar, was also on ...

  Jerusalem / AFP Israeli guards shot and wounded an unarmed 13-year-old Palestinian girl on Wednesday after she did not stop at a checkpoint, officials said, the latest incident in an upsurge of violence. The Israeli defence ministry said the girl was not carrying a weapon. The incident occurred at a checkpoint near the Israeli settlement of Alfei Menashe and the ...

  United Nations / AFP Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi urged Israel to “write a bright page” in Middle East history and make peace with the Palestinians. Speaking at the United Nations, Sisi said the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was at “the core of regional instability” and called for a settlement based on a two-state solution leading to a Palestinian state. “Permit ...

  Cairo / AFP Egyptian state television said on Wednesday it had sacked its head of news after an old interview with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi was screened in error. Sisi, who is in New York for the UN General Assembly, was interviewed by the American PBS network for a second consecutive year. Instead of broadcasting the new interview on ...

  PARIS / AFP France’s presidential race started in earnest on Wednesday as seven rightwing candidates including ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy were confirmed to contest a November primary, with the nominee seen as the likely winner of next year’s election. The stakes are high with polls showing that the winner of a duel between the two leading candidates from the Republicans ...