Yangon / AFP Continuing fighting is undermining Aung San Suu Kyi’s drive for lasting peace in Myanmar, rebel leaders warned Monday as they cautiously welcomed her new civilian-led government’s landmark talks. Suu Kyi has made peace a flagship policy of her new government, which took over in March after decades of brutal junta rule. She has strived to reach ...
Read More »4 killed in armed attacks on Kazak police station
Almaty / AFP Three police officers and one civilian were killed on Monday following armed attacks on a police station and a security service office in Kazakhstan’s largest city Almaty, the interior ministry said. Parts of the city were in lockdown following the incident with one suspect in custody and a manhunt underway for an accomplice still at large, ...
Read More »France falls silent for Nice victims as politicians bicker
Nice, France / AFP France fell silent on Monday for the victims of the Nice truck attack, but the mourning was overshadowed by politicians tearing into each other over the massacre. A sea of people thronged the Nice promenade for the emotional minute’s silence just days after a Tunisian attacker drove a truck into a crowd at the same ...
Read More »Ex-Australia PM Rudd wants top UN job
Sydney / AFP Former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd on Monday revealed he wants to succeed Ban Ki-moon as the next UN secretary general, asking Canberra to endorse his nomination. A growing list of candidates have declared their interest in becoming the world’s top diplomat, including UNESCO chief Irina Bokova of Bulgaria and former New Zealand prime minister and ...
Read More »African Union fails to elect new leader
Kigali, Rwanda / AFP African heads of state meeting in Kigali failed on Monday to elect a new head of the African Union and will try again in January, an official said. Current AU Commission President Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma was due to stand down but leaders were unable to agree on a successor to lead the executive branch of the continental ...
Read More »UK to keep ‘leading role’ in Europe: FM Johnson
Brussels / AFP New British foreign minister and top Brexit backer Boris Johnson pledged on Monday Britain would continue to play a “leading role” in Europe as he met his European Union peers in Brussels for the first time. The normally ebullient Johnson was on his best behaviour after infuriating his partners in the run-up to last month’s referendum ...
Read More »PM May to visit Berlin, Paris in first foreign trip
London / AFP Theresa May will visit Berlin on Wednesday in her first foreign visit as Britain’s new prime minister, Downing Street said, for talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel on the UK’s preparations to leave the EU. She will then head for Paris on Thursday for similar talks with French President Francois Hollande, and for discussions on counter-terrorism cooperation ...
Read More »In Lebanon, Syria refugees fear rising discrimination
Beirut / AFP Syrian refugee Abu Adnan was rushing his newborn to the doctor one night in the Lebanese town of Rmeish when municipal police stopped him and began questioning him. He was in violation of a municipal curfew that prevents Syrian refugees from leaving their homes between sunset and sunrise. “They began questioning me — ‘Where are you ...
Read More »How social media helped defeat Turkish coup
The attempted coup d’etat by a faction of Turkey’s armed forces on Friday failed for many reasons, including divisions among the military and repeated missteps by the plotters. Social media and mobile communications also played an important role. And it wasn’t the first time this combination has enabled citizens to express their will and have a say in deciding ...
Read More »Parenting China, the teenage power
David Lai / Fred Gellert SPECIAL TO EMIRATES BUSINESS The events of the last year have seen a shift in Beijing’s relations with China’s neighboring states and the United States. New Chinese challenges to the international order such as assertions of territorial ownership, pronouncements of international initiatives, military build ups and maneuvering, and land creation in the South China ...
Read More »