Geneva / AFP The US and Russia conducted last-minute negotiations on Thursday over a fresh bid for a Syrian peace deal ahead of an expected high-level meeting in Geneva. Foreign ministers from the two powers, which support opposite sides in the five-year conflict, were poised to hold a “personal meeting” in the Swiss city to push for a peace agreement, according …

  Tripoli / AFP Two car bombs went off in the Libyan capital Tripoli on Thursday morning, damaging nearby vehicles but causing no casualties, said a security official. The bombings hit behind the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and near the entrance to a naval base that was the headquarters of Libya’s unity government when it set up operations in the …

  Vientiane / AFP India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday pledged to formally join the Paris climate change agreement this year, a potentially major step toward the pact entering into force. After a meeting with President Barack Obama, a champion of the deal, in Vientiane, the White House said the two leaders had made a joint commitment “to join …