Beijing / AFP All residents in China’s restive region of Xinjiang must hand in their passports to local police stations for “examination and management”, the Global Times newspaper said Thursday. “Anyone who needs the passport must apply to the police station,” an anonymous police officer in Aksu prefecture told the paper, adding that the policy had been implemented throughout Xinjiang. ...

  Lagos / AFP Amnesty International on Thursday accused Nigeria’s security forces of killing at least 150 pro-Biafra protesters and injuring hundreds since August 2015. The army denied the charge. “This deadly repression of pro-Biafra activists is further stoking tensions in the southeast of Nigeria,” Amnesty warned in its report. “This reckless and trigger-happy approach to crowd control has caused at ...

  Yaoundé / AFP Two female bombers were thwarted as they tried to stage a double suicide attack in Cameroon’s Far North Thursday, with one blowing herself up and the second shot dead by troops, security sources said. “At around 7:30 am (0630 GMT), two young suicide bombers entered the town of Mora” with the aim of blowing themselves up, ...

  Palm Beach / AFP Donald Trump began to broaden the base of his future cabinet Wednesday, nominating two conservative women including a critic, after his earlier picks rewarded campaign loyalists. Trump’s nomination of South Carolina’s 44-year-old governor, Nikki Haley, as US ambassador to the United Nations will be seen as a sign he is ready to forgive some foes ...

  Islamabad / AFP British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson called for an end to violence in Kashmir during a visit to Islamabad on Thursday, warning tensions between India and Pakistan are holding the region back from becoming an “incredible boomzone”. Johnson, who said he was visiting Pakistan for the first time, spoke a day after at least nine people were killed ...

  Brussels / AFP Germany’s Martin Schulz said on Thursday he would step down as head of the European Parliament and return to national politics, where analysts say he could emerge as a rival to Angela Merkel. The outspoken former bookseller from Aachen will quit after four years in office, during which he became one of the European Union’s most high-profile ...

  Sydney / AFP An unprecedented “thunderstorm asthma” event has left four people dead and three fighting for their lives in Australia, with authorities on Thursday scrambling to review their procedures after emergency services were overwhelmed. Some 8,500 people have presented to hospital emergency departments, mostly in Melbourne, since a thunderstorm coincided with a high pollen count on Monday, causing ...

  Teknaf / AFP Horrifying stories of gang rape, torture and murder are emerging from among the thousands of desperate Rohingya migrants who have pushed into Bangladesh in the past few days to escape unfolding chaos in Myanmar. Up to 30,000 of the impoverished ethnic group have fled their homes, the United Nations says, after troops poured into the narrow strip ...

  Dubai / Emirates Business The Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai and the Dubai World Trade Centre Authority (DWTCA) havesigned a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to facilitate business licensing and operations within their respective territories. The agreement will allow DWTCA to have access to the Trade Name Reservation System of DED, while companies licensed by DED will be ...

  Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) is inviting visitors to the last race of the Formula 1 season to step into the past of Abu Dhabi while at the Yas Marina Circuit. With racing taking place between November, 25 -27 and more than 60,000 fans expected on Yas Island from across ...