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BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that recognising Jerusalem as his country’s capital “makes peace possible”, after widespread international criticism of the US decision to do so. US President Donald Trump’s announcement last week has been followed by days of protests and clashes in the Palestinian territories, as well as demonstrations across the Islamic world. The EU expressed alarm at the decision, which upends seven decades of US policy on […]
by Mahmoud Saleh © Agence France-Presse BAIJI, Iraq (AFP) — A white rocking horse and a child’s toy car lie abandoned on a dusty lane in the Iraqi city of Baiji, a small sign of the ruin that can be seen all around. Two years after the jihadists of Islamic State group were forced from this one-time industrial hub, Baiji remains a devastated ghost city as pledges of funds to help rebuild life have failed to […]
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — Dubai on Sunday adopted its 2018 budget foreseing expenditure of 56.6 million dirhams (around $15.5 billion), a 19.5 percent increase over last year, as it prepares to host Expo 2020. But the 2018 budget of Dubai, one of seven emirates in the United Arab Emirates, also forecasts a deficit of $1.7 billion — the highest since the 2009 financial crisis, a government statement said. “Dubai’s commitment to Expo excellence, […]
CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro announced Sunday that leading opposition parties will be barred from taking part in next year’s presidential vote after they boycotted mayoral polls, in a move set to further consolidate his grip on power. That includes the groups of key figures who have led street protests against his rule such as Henrique Capriles, Leopoldo Lopez and others, Maduro told reporters after casting his vote in the municipal polls. “That’s what […]
by David Harding Agence France Presse DOHA, Qatar (AFP) — Qatar signed a multi-billion-dollar deal Sunday to buy 24 Typhoon fighters from Britain, its second major defense agreement this week, which comes during the worst political crisis in the region for years. The $8-billion (6.8-billion-euro) deal was signed in Doha by Qatar’s Defense Minister Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah and his British counterpart, Gavin Williamson. Williamson said it was the biggest order for Typhoons in a […]
by Martine Pauwels Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The heaviest snowfall in four years in Britain caused travel mayhem Sunday, while more than 300 flights were cancelled at Germany’s busiest airport and a ferry ran aground in the French port of Calais. Hundreds of air passengers were stranded in Frankfurt, Germany’s financial capital, as well as Britain, and many took to Twitter to complain. Some 330 flights were cancelled by 5:00 pm […]
by Adam Plowright and Valerie Leroux Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began a trip to Europe on Sunday facing widespread criticism of the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state and pressure to engage in the peace process. In his first meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, he was urged to re-engage with the Palestinians to build goodwill following widespread protests over the […]
RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories (AFP) — Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas will not hold a planned meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence following Washington’s controversial policy shift on Jerusalem, an Abbas aide said on Saturday. “There will be no meeting with the vice president of America in Palestine,” diplomatic adviser Majdi al-Khaldi told AFP. “The United States has crossed all the red lines with the Jerusalem decision,” he added. The White House warned on Thursday that cancelling the […]
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Saturday announced the end of a three-year war by Iraqi forces to drive the Islamic State jihadist group out of the country. “Our forces are in complete control of the Iraqi-Syrian border and I therefore announce the end of the war against Daesh (IS),” Abadi told a conference in Baghdad. “Our enemy wanted to kill our civilisation, but we have won through our unity and our determination. We […]
AHMEDABAD, India (AFP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat began voting on Saturday, in a key electoral test of his popularity after a series of controversial economic reforms. Voters, with their election cards in hand, started lining up at polling booths early in the morning in Gujarat where Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has held power for 22 years. “Urging all those voting today to turnout in record numbers and vote. […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — From a musclebound Superman to ice hockey player to jet pilot, Vladimir Putin plays various heroic roles in paintings at a Moscow exhibition called “Superputin” that opened this week as he began his campaign for a fourth Kremlin term. Displayed at an arts centre in a former factory in central Moscow, the paintings by various artists range from factual to fanciful, showing Putin cuddling a puppy, brandishing a Russian flag while […]
by Veronique DUPONT / Robyn Beck Agence France-Presse BONSALL, United States (AFP) — Thousands of firefighters battled raging wildfires in California on Saturday that have forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee the Los Angeles area, as well as outbreaks closer to San Diego. Nearly 700 structures including multi-million dollar mansions have been destroyed by wildfires raging on six different fronts, but despite the intensity of the blazes, authorities have reported only one fatality. […]
