Politics

New Malaysia security law debuts as PM fights critics

  Kuala Lumpur / AFP Tough new security legislation came into force in Malaysia on Monday, with critics saying the “draconian” law threatens democracy and could be used against opponents of the scandal-tainted premier. The National Security Council Act was pushed through parliament in December by the government of Prime Minister Najib Razak, who for more than a year has ...

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Trump’s Russia praise raises ‘security issues’: Clinton

  Washington / AFP Hillary Clinton sharply criticized Donald Trump over his “absolute allegiance” to Russian policy aims, saying it raised both “national security issues” and new doubts about his temperament. Trump, her Republican rival in the race for the White House, responded defiantly, saying he had “no relationship” with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and had never met nor spoken ...

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Tensions as tens of thousands rally for Erdogan in Germany

  Cologne / AFP Tens of thousands of supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan rallied in the German city of Cologne on Sunday as tensions over Turkey’s failed coup put authorities on edge. Waving the Turkish flag and chanting “Turkey”, the demonstrators turned the rally site next to the River Rhine into a sea of red as they began ...

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Turkey dismisses 1,400 troops

  Ankara / AFP Turkey’s government on Sunday dismissed nearly 1,400 military personnel, including a top aide to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the latest round of a sweeping purge following a failed coup. The announcement in the official gazette came as Erdogan sought to tighten his grip over the country by bringing the armed forces and spy agency under his ...

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Ankara mayor to US: Deliver Gulen to prove Washington not behind coup

  Ankara / AFP The United States must extradite Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen to Turkey to remove any suspicion that Washington was involved in the failed July 15 coup, the mayor of Ankara Melih Gokcek said. Gokcek, mayor for over 22 years and one of the most senior figures in the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of President Recep Tayyip ...

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S Sudan war criminals to face justice: US

  Washington / AFP Washington has warned that those who perpetrate atrocities in South Sudan’s civil war will be held responsible for their crimes. The United States served as a midwife in the creation of the South Sudan, formed in July 2011 by partitioning Sudan. But South Sudan descended into war in December 2013, and a peace deal signed last year ...

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Yemen govt accepts UN peace deal

  Kuwait City / AFP The Yemeni government said Sunday it has accepted a UN-proposed peace agreement to end more than a year of armed conflict, but there has been no word from the rebels. The announcement by the Saudi-backed government came after a high-level meeting in Kuwait’s capital chaired by Yemen’s President Aberabbo Mansour Hadi. “The meeting approved the draft ...

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Dozens of families leave Syria’s besieged Aleppo

  Beijing / AFP Dozens of civilians left the besieged and battered opposition-held east of Syria’s Aleppo city on Saturday through a “humanitarian corridor” to the government-held west, state media reported. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported that “a number” of civilians had crossed into government territory. The crossings were the first major movement of people from ...

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2 sisters shot dead in Pakistan ‘honour’ killings

  Lahore / AFP A man killed his two sisters on the eve of their weddings in Pakistan’s central Punjab province, police said on Saturday, in the latest case of so-called “honour” killings in the country. Kosar and Gulzar Bibi, aged 22 and 28, were shot dead by 35-year-old brother Nasir Hussain on Friday as they prepared to marry men they ...

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China holds Japanese over ‘endangering’ national security

  Tokyo / AFP Beijing said it has detained and questioned a Japanese national working on cultural exchange projects for allegedly “endangering China’s national security”, Japanese newspapers reported on Saturday. The man, who has been missing since mid-July, was identified by the Nikkei business daily as the Japanese head of an organisation working to improve ties between the two rivals. China ...

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