Hangzhou / AFP G20 leaders met on Monday under pressure to reboot the world economy, but a stumbling push for a Syria ceasefire and Asia’s heated territorial disputes intruded on the summit in Hangzhou. There had been hopes of a breakthrough in stemming the Syria conflict after the US said it was close to a deal with Russia. But frantic …

  Berlin / AFP German Chancellor Angela Merkel came under fresh fire over her open-door refugee policy on Monday after her party suffered a humiliating defeat against an upstart anti-migrant populist party in her home state. The right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party clinched almost 21 percent in its first bid for seats in the regional parliament of Mecklenburg-Western …

  Moscow / AFP Russia on Monday launched large-scale military drills on Ukraine’s eastern border and around the Crimean peninsula, in the latest exercises set to rattle Kiev and the West. The defence ministry said 12,500 servicemen are taking part in the drills across its southern military region, which encompasses Russia’s volatile North Caucasus and the annexed Crimea region. The …