MOSCOW / AFP Russia’s defence ministry on Thursday accused the United States of bombing the Syrian city of Aleppo after the Pentagon said Moscow’s air strikes had destroyed two hospitals in the city. Moscow furiously denied the US claim, charging in return that Washington had sent ground-attack planes to bombard Aleppo, an allegation the US said was a “fabrication”. “Just ...

Bloomberg If David Cameron leaves next week’s European Union summit with a deal to overhaul the terms of Britain’s membership, many of his counterparts will breathe a sigh of relief —and dig out their own wishlists. As populist and anti-EU forces surge across the region, the prime minister’s ultimately successful strategy of issuing demands for change and threatening to leave ...

Berlin / AFP Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi urged Kurdistan on Thursday to drop any plans for independence, criticising a proposed statehood referendum and warning the autonomous region would not prosper on its own. Abadi also highlighted the economic crisis Iraq faces, saying that oil revenues had fallen by 85 percent compared to two years before—a major challenge made ...