Fallujah, Iraq / AFP Iraqi forces hunted down holdout extremists in Fallujah on Saturday after retaking the city centre and trained their sights on Mosul, the IS last remaining major hub in the country. While not fully under government control yet, Fallujah is the latest in a string of battlefields losses for IS, which has seen its two-year-old “caliphate” shrink …

  Aden, Yemen / AFP Yemen’s warring parties exchanged dozens of prisoners captured in fighting for third city Taez on Saturday following mediation by local tribes, the chief mediator said. Saudi-backed government forces which control the city released 118 prisoners, while Iran-backed rebels who control most of the surrounding province freed 76, tribal chief Abdullatif al-Muradi said. Loyalist officials in the …

  Brussels, Belgium / AFP Dozens of anti-terror raids were carried out across Belgium overnight in a case that needed “an immediate intervention”, and 12 people have been held, federal prosecutors said on Saturday. The raids took place in 16 communes in Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia and “passed off without incident,” they said in a statement, adding that “until now no …

  London / afp British lawmaker Jo Cox’s alleged killer ranted against “traitors” during a brief court appearance on Saturday, as EU referendum campaigning was suspended for a third day in tribute to her. “Death to traitors, freedom for Britain,” 52-year-old Thomas Mair said when asked to give his name at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London after being charged with …

  Beijing / AP Scores of paramilitary police have locked down a restive village in southern China to ward off fresh anti-corruption protests nearly five years after its uprising made it a symbol of grassroots defiance against the Communist Party. A resident from Wukan village in Guangdong Province said by telephone that police swept in late Friday night to surround …

  lhoknga, Indonesia / AFP Dozens of Sri Lankan migrants stranded on a boat off Indonesia were allowed to come ashore on Saturday, easing a tense stand-off with local authorities that drew international condemnation. The 44 migrants, who include many women and children, had been stuck on a boat off Aceh province for a week as authorities in the western …

  WASHINGTON A year ago this month, President Obama was delivering a eulogy in Charleston, South Carolina, after the mass shooting in a church there. As he neared the end, he took a long pause and then began singing “Amazing Grace.” It was an unforgettable, transcendent moment. Michelle Obama had reportedly cautioned him against singing, but Obama told her on …

  With figures showing that Brazil’s economy stalled in 2014 and shrank 3.8% last year, the country heads towards its worst recession amid warnings such a development could cast a shadow on the Olympic Games in August, and deepen the political crisis. The scenario is deplorable indeed. The country’s primary fiscal deficit is forecast to be around $47 billion. And …

  Mark Gilbert Bloomberg View Germany this week joined the elite club of sovereign borrowers able to raise funds for a decade at an interest rate of less than zero. Other euro zone countries, including France, Spain and Italy, are also enjoying 10-year borrowing costs at or near record lows. Negative German yields are the strongest signal yet that the …

  Shang-su Wu SPECIAL TO EMIRATES BUSINESS Among the various projects proposed under China’s “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR) strategy, the Singapore-Kunming Rail Link (SKRL) seems to be the most promising rail project. Since announced at the fifth summit of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1995, this project has evolved from a conventional railway to a …