Administration nears end of campaign to retake territory once held by Isis as Trump tweets: ‘We have defeated Isis in Syria’ Donald Trump is reported to have ordered a full, rapid withdrawal of over 2,000 US troops in Syria, declaring victory over the Islamic State, and taking allies and his ... Read More »
Russia, Turkey and Iran reach agreement on Syria committee
UN says Moscow rejected five names its envoy wanted included in proposed panel The three self-appointed guarantors of the Syrian peace process – Russia, Turkey and Iran – have spurned efforts by the UN to change the composition of a committee due to write a new constitution for the country. ... Read More »
Belgian PM Charles Michel resigns after no-confidence motion
Country braces for snap election as parliament rejects minority administration Belgium’s government of four years has fallen on the issue of migration after the country’s parliament rejected an appeal from prime minister, Charles Michel, for its support for a minority administration. Michel was forced to offer his resignation to the ... Read More »
Untouched ‘one-of-a-kind’ ancient tomb belonging to ‘divine inspector’ uncovered in Egypt
Antiquities official say they’ll dig deeper into tomb in search of priest’s sarcophagus He was known as Wahtye, and served as royal priest or high-ranking religious figure carrying the title “divine inspector.” And he must have been someone of great importance, for when he was buried in the southwest outskirts ... Read More »
Sudan’s president Omar al-Bashir becomes first Arab League member to visit Syria since 2011
Visit comes amid growing calls from some Arab states to normalise ties with Syrian regime Sudan’s president Omar al-Bashir made a surprise trip to Syria on Sunday, becoming the first Arab League leader to visit the country since war began there in 2011. The president met Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad, ... Read More »
Climate talks pass baton in race to stop global warming
Fractious climate change talks in Poland showed the limits of international action to limit global warming in a polarized world, putting the onus on individual governments, cities and communities to stop temperatures rising. Nearly 200 countries at the United Nations talks in Katowice – in the coal mining region of ... Read More »
Thousands march in Brussels against U.N. migration pact
Thousands of people marched in Brussels on Sunday against a U.N. pact aimed at fostering cooperation on migration, eclipsing a smaller demonstration in support of the deal, the signing of which brought down Belgium’s government last week. Police said some 5,500 people marched in the bigger protest, organized by Flemish ... Read More »
‘All I want for Christmas is democracy,’ say Hungary protesters
Thousands of Hungarians thronged the streets of Budapest on Sunday in the fourth and largest protest in a week against what they see as the increasingly authoritarian rule of right-wing nationalist Viktor Orban. Braving sub-zero temperatures, setting off flares and waving Hungarian and European Union flags, about 10,000 demonstrators walked ... Read More »
Johnson and Johnson knew about cancer-causing asbestos in baby in baby powder for decades, new report claims
New Jersey-based company insists products remains safe Shares of the pharma and medical giant Johnson & Johnson have tumbled sharply after an investigation suggested the company had known for years its famous baby powder was contaminated with cancer-causing asbestos. Reuters published a lengthy enquiry into one of the company’s most ... Read More »
Europe Ukraine forms new unified Orthodox Church in defiance of Moscow
President Petro Poroshenko describes the founding of church as ‘day of final independence from Russia’ For proponents of Ukrainian independence, Saturday was a long-awaited day. Inside Kiev’s St Sophia Cathedral, a unification council of 190 delegates gathered to serve the final rites on the country’s 332-year-old religious ties with Moscow ... Read More »