Politics

Beirut / AFP Syrian regime forces were on the defensive around Aleppo on Sunday after a rebel alliance said it inflicted a major setback by breaking a three-week government siege of the battered city. A coalition of rebels and fighters surged through regime territory on Saturday to open a new route into Aleppo’s besieged eastern neighbourhoods, home to an estimated ...

  Bangkok / AFP Thailand began voting on a junta-crafted constitution on Sunday in a referendum where open debate has been banned, as opponents warned the document will perpetuate military power and deepen divisions. The poll offers Thais their first chance to vote since generals toppled the elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra in 2014. The kingdom is split after a ...

  Montreal / AFP Organizers of the World Social Forum set for next week in Montreal said that Canadian authorities have denied travel visas to more than 200 delegates invited to the anti-globalization event. Others are still waiting for a word from Canada’s immigration ministry, which issues travel documents. The summit is set to open on Tuesday. Currently “234 guests ...

  Istanbul / AFP Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Istanbul on Sunday for a pro-democracy rally organised by the ruling party, bringing to an end three weeks of demonstrations in support of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after last month’s failed coup. Followers of Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) have taken to the streets every night since the ...

  Beirut / AFP Islamists and rebels captured strategic military positions on the edges of Syria’s second city Aleppo on Saturday, turning the tables on Russian-backed regime forces besieging the city. To the northeast, a Western-backed alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters scored a major victory against the IS group in the town of Manbij after a fierce two-month battle. ...

  Tokyo / AFP Japan on Saturday marked 71 years since the city of Hiroshima was destroyed by a US atomic bomb, as its mayor urged the world to unite in abolishing nuclear weapons. The annual ceremony came just months after Barack Obama became the first sitting US president to visit the western Japanese city, paying moving tribute to victims ...

  United Nations / AFP UN peacekeepers abandoned their posts and questioned an order to use force to repel heavily armed soldiers who stormed their base in South Sudan six months ago, according to the findings of a UN board of inquiry. The board set up by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon found that the mission “failed to manage the crisis ...

Montreal / AFP Organizers of the World Social Forum set for next week in Montreal said that Canadian authorities have denied travel visas to more than 200 delegates invited to the anti-globalization event. Others are still waiting for a word from Canada’s immigration ministry, which issues travel documents. The summit is set to open on Tuesday.Currently “234 guests were refused ...

  Istanbul / AP Turkey’s ruling party ordered a purge from its ranks of supporters of US-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, accused of plotting last month’s failed coup. The “urgent clean-up in the party organisation” was aimed at expelling those linked with the Fethullah Terrorist Organisation, as Ankara calls the movement blamed for the July 15 attempted putsch, state-run Anadolu ...

  Sirte / AFP Libyan pro-government forces battled to retake territory in the IS group stronghold Sirte on Wednesday, but faced fierce resistance from extremist snipers and mines. Fighters allied to Libya’s UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), supported by US air strikes, are trying to retake the coastal city — hometown of slain dictator Moamer Kadhafi — from IS ...