US coalition airstrikes kill 20 near IS stronghold

  BEIRUT / AP At least 20 civilians, including some children, were killed in suspected US-coalition airstrikes on a village east of the IS group’s de-facto capital in Syria, activists reported on Thursday. The report comes as the militants come under mounting pressure by rival US-backed and Russian-backed forces working to seize the capital, Raqqa. Also on Thursday, engineers restored two ...

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Moldova: Russia intimidating officials over corruption probe

  BUCHAREST / AFP Moldova has accused Russia’s intelligence service of intimidating politicians and other officials, amid an investigation in the former Soviet republic into alleged money laundering by Russian officials. Moldova’s Parliament said on Thursday that Russia intelligence agents had “abusively stopped…. interrogated, and treated in a humiliating manner” 25 Moldovan lawmakers, intelligence officials, and pro-European politicians in recent ...

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Strikers in Spain seek more public funding for schools

  MADRID / AP Thousands of high school and university students have marched in cities across Spain to urge the government to invest more in education and to repeal a controversial education bill. The protests on Thursday were called by the State Platform in Defense of Public Education, which includes associations of parents and students, as well as teachers’ unions. In ...

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Hawaii files lawsuit over Trump’s revised travel ban

  HONOLULU / AP Hawaii has become the first state to file a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban, saying the order will harm its Muslim population, tourism and foreign students. Attorneys for the state filed the lawsuit against the US government on Wednesday in federal court in Honolulu. The state had previously sued over Trump’s initial travel ban, ...

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Top UN court dismisses Bosnian appeal against Serbia

  SARAJEVO / AFP The United Nations’ top court has dismissed a request by Bosnia to reconsider its 2007 ruling that cleared Serbia of blame for genocide during the 1992-95 Bosnian war. The International Court of Justice informed Bosnia’s tripartite presidency on Thursday that it could not allow the appeal of its ruling because the request to do so was ...

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Kremlin denies violating N-arms pact with US

  MOSCOW / AFP The Kremlin on Thursday rejected US claims of Russian violations of a landmark nuclear arms treaty, saying it has respected the pact and will continue to do so. The controversy over the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty adds another thorn in the side for US President Donald Trump’s declared goal of improving ties with Moscow, coming at ...

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Putin hosts Netanyahu for talks set to focus on Syria

  MOSCOW / AFP Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday for talks focusing on the situation in Syria and Israeli concerns about the role of Iran and its proxies there. Greeting Netanyahu at the start of their Kremlin negotiations, Putin emphasized a high level of trust between them. Netanyahu’s visit to Moscow follows his talks ...

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Qatar Airways plans to establish Indian carrier with 100 planes

  Bloomberg Qatar Airways Ltd. plans to set up a short-haul airline in India with a fleet of 100 narrow-body planes, renewing a push to gain a bigger share of one of the world’s fastest-growing travel markets. The Gulf carrier will make an application to the Indian authorities “soon,” Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said at the ITB Berlin ...

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Hugo Boss sees chance of returning to profit growth

  Bloomberg Hugo Boss AG, the ailing German clothier, said earnings may rise in 2017 as its turnaround takes shape after profit plummeted on weak sales in China and the US last year. Adjusted operating profit will rise or fall as much as 3 percent this year, the company said in a statement on Thursday. The company said it’s cutting ...

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Emirates airlines concerned about latest US travel order

  BERLIN / Reuters Emirates, the world’s largest long-haul carrier, said on Thursday it was concerned President Donald Trump’s latest travel order will still deter Muslim visitors to America, after booking rates on U.S. flights fell 35 percent following January’s ban. Trump signed a new executive order on Monday, which takes effect on March 16, keeping a 90-day ban on ...

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