London / AFP Hundreds of thousands of British commuters faced travel chaos on Tuesday as train drivers went on strike in what is expected to be the worst rail disruption in decades. Southern Rail, which runs trains between England’s south coast and London, warned of severe disruption as it cancelled more than 2,000 services after workers launched three days of ...

  Beirut / AFP The UN said on Tuesday it had credible reports of pro-government forces in Syria’s Aleppo executing dozens of civilians including women and children as the crucial battle for the city neared its end. The UN human rights office said at least 82 civilians, including 11 women and 13 children, had been killed in recent days. UN rights ...

  Ankara / AFP Turkey will intensify talks with Russia and other countries for a ceasefire to end the “humanitarian tragedy” in the Syrian city of Aleppo, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday. “Today, tomorrow, everyday, we will intensify our talks with Russia and other countries so we can find a solution to this humanitarian tragedy,” Cavusoglu said at a ...

  Ankara/ AFP Turkish police detained two more pro-Kurdish lawmakers hours after arresting over 200 people accused of links to Kurdish militants, their party said early Tuesday. The two women, Caglar Demirel and Besime Konca, who represent the southeastern Kurdish-majority cities of Diyarbakir and Siirt respectively, were held as part of a sweeping anti-terror probe, state news agency Anadolu said. ...

  Aleppo / AFP Once renowned for its bustling souks, grand citadel and historic gates, Aleppo’s Old City has been rendered virtually unrecognisable by some of the worst violence of Syria’s war. For centuries, Aleppo was Syria’s economic and cultural powerhouse, attracting tourists from around the world to its celebrated heritage sites. But now, only gaunt stray cats roam the rubble-strewn ...

  Seoul / AFP Senior US, Japanese and South Korean officials with special responsibility for the North Korean nuclear issue held talks on Tuesday, at a time of political flux and policy uncertainty in Washington and Seoul. “We shared the view that it is more important than ever to keep close cooperation among the three countries,” South Korea’s nuclear envoy Kim ...

  Sanaa/ AFP Nearly 2.2 million Yemeni children are acutely malnourished, victims of the near-collapse of the health care system during two years of escalating conflict, UN children’s fund UNICEF said on Tuesday. At least 462,000 are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, as food supplies have been disrupted by the devastating war between the Saudi-backed government and Shiite rebels, the agency ...

  Concarneau / AFP They came all the way from Japan to France with a crazy idea: establishing a factory for authentic dried bonito flakes, a key ingredient in Japanese cuisine that is very rare in Europe. Dried bonito fish, also known as katsuobushi, has a distinct umami flavour and is the main ingredient in dashi, a traditional stock which ...

  Cairo / AFP In an endless cacophony of car horns, Mostafa Ekram each day confronts the frenzy of Cairo’s traffic jams: pedestrians darting out into the street, swerving tuk-tuks and even donkey carts. At the wheel of his SUV, in the heart of Egypt’s bustling capital, he doesn’t bat an eyelid as he narrowly dodges a black tuk-tuk, a ...

  Dubai / WAM The world is seeing a fast pace of development due to the speed of technological advancement, which has enabled unprecedented interaction between individuals and communities, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said. While honouring the winners of the Arab Social Media Influencers Awards, he ...