Sirte / AFP Libyan pro-government forces went back on the offensive on Tuesday against last pockets of resistance by fighters of the IS extremist group in the coastal city of Sirte. Backed by tanks and mortar fire, pro-government forces advanced inside “District Two” of central Sirte, an AFP photographer reported, after a day of clearing and demining areas of ...

  Srinagar / Agencies Security forces shot dead five people and wounded another 20 during protests in Kashmir on Tuesday, according to witnesses and security sources. Four people were killed in Aripanthan village after residents took to the streets to protest what they said were aggressive tactics by members of the security forces during an overnight patrol designed to enforce ...

  UNITED NATIONS / AP Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he would personally like to see a woman lead the United Nations for the first time since it was established more than 70 years ago. As he nears the end of his second five-year term on Dec. 31, Ban said that “it’s high time now” for a female secretary-general after eight ...

  Baton Rouge / AFP Louisiana faced epic flooding, with seven people killed and thousands evacuated to emergency shelters after waterways in the southern part of the state overflowed their banks. Some areas have received more than 20 inches (50 centimeters) of rain since late Thursday, submerging vast swaths of southern Louisiana in muddy waters. “Our state is currently experiencing ...

Jakarta / AFP President Joko Widodo pledged Tuesday to defend “every inch” of Indonesia’s land and maritime territory, following clashes with Chinese vessels around Indonesian islands in the South China Sea. In a state of the nation address he also said Indonesia was “actively involved” in seeking a peaceful solution to the broader regional dispute about ownership of islands in ...

  London / Bloomberg The UK government gave the go-ahead for the world’s biggest offshore wind farm, a 6 billion-pound ($7.8 billion) project in the North Sea by Danish utility Dong Energy A/S. “Britain is a global leader in offshore wind, and we’re determined to be one of the leading destinations for investment in renewable energy, which means jobs and ...

  London / AFP Britain’s annual inflation rate edged higher last month, official data showed on Tuesday, and is set to climb further as a weak pound caused by the Brexit vote raises import prices. The 12-month Consumer Price Index rose by 0.6 percent in July, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement. CPI had risen by 0.5 ...

  Berlin / AFP German industrial gas supplier Linde and its US competitor Praxair “are discussing a merger of equals”, a source close to the matter said on Tuesday, confirming a Wall Street Journal report. A potential tie-up between the two companies would create a giant that would overtake French group Air Liquide as the world’s number one supplier of industrial ...

  Berlin / AFP Investor confidence in Germany rebounded slightly in August, as the shock over Britain’s vote to leave the European Union began to wear off, a leading survey showed on Tuesday. The investor confidence index calculated by the ZEW economic institute gained 7.3 points to stand in positive territory at 0.5 points in August, recovering from a massive ...

  Emirates Business Global leaders will meet in Dubai for the Africa Legal Network’s (ALN) 3rd Annual International Conference on October 5-6 at the Park Hyatt, Dubai, UAE. The invite-only event will bring together government representatives and business professionals to discuss the greatest opportunities for foreign investment in Africa. The conference comes as total non-oil trade between the two regions ...