Afghanistan / AFP US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter arrived in Afghanistan on Tuesday for talks with President Ashraf Ghani, days after the United States and NATO pledged to keep thousands of troops in the troubled country. Carter flew in to Bagram air base outside Kabul, and was due to meet with Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah in the capital later. The …

  Damascus / AFP Syria’s army has extended a nationwide truce for another three days, but continued Tuesday to press its campaign against rebels in the battered northern city of Aleppo. In a statement late Monday, the armed forces said it would “extend the freeze on fighting on all Syrian territory for 72 hours beginning at 00:01 on July 12.” …

  Geneva / AFP At least 36,000 people have fled their homes in Juba since heavy fighting erupted in the South Sudanese capital on Friday, the United Nations said on Tuesday. “The latest fighting since Friday has displaced 36,000 people,” Vanessa Huguenin, spokeswoman for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA, said, speaking in French. She added that the number was likely …

  Kathmandu / AFP Nepal’s former rebel Maoists withdrew from the ruling coalition on Tuesday, leaving the government without a majority and threatening to plunge the quake-hit country into a fresh political crisis. The Maoists, who hold 80 out of 575 elected seats in parliament, said they wanted to form a “national consensus government” to implement a divisive new national …

  Londres, United Kingdom / AFP David Cameron chaired his final cabinet meeting on Tuesday after six years as Britain’s prime minister, with incoming premier Theresa May preparing to form a new government to deliver Brexit. May led tributes to Cameron at the meeting, which was described by ministers as “emotional”, and posed for photographers on the steps of the …

  London / AP After all of the flamboyant characters and very public backstabbing in the race to become Britain’s next PM, the winner turned out to be an understated workhorse who maintained a low profile throughout the campaign. Home Secretary Theresa May, 59, is not well-known internationally, but she has served for six years in one of Britain’s toughest jobs, …

  Caracas, Venezuela / AFP Citibank plans to close the account Venezuela uses to make international payments, President Nicolas Maduro said, accusing the US-based bank of mounting a “financial blockade.” “Citibank, with no warning or communication, says that it is going to close the Central Bank and Bank Of Venezuela account. That is what you call a financial blockade,” the …

  Berlin, Germany / AFP German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny said on Tuesday they expected Britain’s new government to quickly define its relationship with the EU after conservative Theresa May becomes PM. The European Union could not put forward any proposals on the two sides’ future relationship “until it’s clear what the strategy from Britain …

  Brussels, Belgium / AFP The European Union on Tuesday launched a controversial deal with the United States aimed at curbing government spying on the personal internet infomation of European citizens. The deal replaces one struck down by the EU’s top court in October, a decision which left firms like Google and Facebook in legal limbo over whether they could …

  WASHINGTON Since its unfortunate “Brexit” vote to leave the European Union, Britain has experienced a tragi-comic round of backstabbing, foot-dragging and second-guessing. Europe, meanwhile has mostly behaved with admirable good sense. The Europeans seem to understand that the Brexit vote is a wake-up call about dissatisfaction with the EU that’s nearly as widespread on the continent as it is …