Aleppo / AFP For much of the past four years, taking a bus between the two sides of Syria’s divided second city Aleppo meant an arduous, and sometimes dangerous, 10-hour road trip. But on Saturday, the trip took just half an hour, as buses travelled directly from the government-held west to recently recaptured neighbourhoods in the east. At least 10 …

  New Delhi / AFP Afghan President Ashraf Ghani accused Pakistan on Sunday of waging an “undeclared war” and said Taliban insurgents battling his government would not last a month without sanctuary in the neighbouring state. Ghani also urged Pakistan to spend around $500 million pledged in aid for Afghanistan to tackle extremism instead. “Despite our intense engagement with Pakistan …

  Ramallah / AFP Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas’s Fatah party is to announce results of a vote for its ruling bodies Sunday, an election watched closely for clues of how the 81-year-old sees his succession. The election for both the party’s central committee and its parliament, known as the revolutionary council, is also expected to sideline Abbas opponents — a key …