Tokyo/ AFP The lacklustre global economy should take centre stage as world leaders gather in Japan this week, but with no agreement likely on igniting growth, Barack Obama’s visit to the atomic-bombed city of Hiroshima looks set to capture the limelight. A gathering Chinese slowdown, weak oil prices and the looming threat of Britain’s exit from the European Union …

  Kiev / AP Seven Ukrainian soldiers have died in the war-torn east over the past 24 hours, the biggest casualty toll in a single day this year, Kiev said on Tuesday. The latest violence came as the leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine called for the implementation of a peace deal in the separatist east during late-night talks …

  Ramallah / AFP Palestinian prime minister Rami Hamdallah on Tuesday dismissed an Israeli proposal for direct negotiations instead of a French multilateral peace initiative, calling it an attempt to “buy time”. Hamdallah made the comments as he met French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, who held talks in Israel and the Palestinian territories this week to push Paris’s peace initiative. …