Politics

  Beirut/ AFP Syrian regime forces and rebel factions sent hundreds of reinforcements to Aleppo on Monday as opposition fighters announced an all-out offensive to take the country’s second city. The battle for Syria’s former economic powerhouse is intensifying after an opposition advance at the weekend broke through a three-week government siege of the city’s rebel-held east, dealing a major ...

  Tehran / AFP Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, rumoured to be planning a political comeback, has asked Barack Obama to return $2 billion of assets frozen in the US in a letter made public on Monday. Ahmadinejad wrote that despite early promises by the US president to improve ties with Iran “the same hostile policies along with the same ...

  Washington / AFP Democrat Hillary Clinton has widened her lead over White House rival Donald Trump to eight points after both parties’ nominating conventions, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll out Sunday. Clinton led Trump 50 to 42 percent among registered voters, according to the telephone survey carried out August 1-4. She got a strong bounce in the ...

  Kathmandu / AFP A helicopter crashed into a hillside in Nepal on Monday, killing all seven people on board including a baby, an airline official said. The Fishtail Air helicopter carrying six locals to Kathmandu lost contact with air traffic control about 30 minutes after taking off from the western district of Gorkha. Rescuers have reached the crash site ...

  Montreal / AFP Anti-globalization activists will gather in Montreal on Tuesday for the first World Social Forum (WSF) to be held in the northern hemisphere, hoping the location will provide fresh impetus for the movement. A march through downtown Montreal is to kick off the event, which was first held in Brazil in 2001 seeking to promote alternatives to ...

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. ...