DEVESELU / AP A US missile defense site in Romania aimed at protecting Europe from ballistic missile threats becomes operational on Thursday, angering Russia which opposes having the advanced military system in its former area of influence. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is due to speak at a ceremony later attended by US, NATO and Romanian officials to mark the …

  Manila / AFP Philippine communist rebel leader Jose Maria Sison has expressed hopes of ending nearly three decades in exile under the new presidency of Rodrigo Duterte, a potentially explosive homecoming opposed by senior military figures. Sison, now 77, fled to Europe soon after peace talks failed in 1987 and has stayed abroad since, while one of Asia’s longest-running …

  Paris / AFP France’s already unpopular Socialist government faces a no-confidence vote Thursday after it bypassed parliament and forced through a labour reform bill that has led to two months of demonstrations. The government said it would resort to the controversial move in the face of fierce opposition from within President Francois Hollande’s own party that was set to …