VIENTIANE, (APP/AFP) – US President Barack Obama warned Beijing Thursday it could not ignore a tribunal’s ruling rejecting its sweeping claims to the South China Sea, driving tensions higher in a territorial row that threatens regional security. The dispute has raised fears of military confrontation between the world’s superpowers, with China determined to cement control […]
International News
Obama warns China over South China Sea ruling
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France’s secular laws can accommodate Islam: Hollande
PARIS, (APP/AFP) – President Francois Hollande insisted Thursday that France’s strict laws separating church and state do not prevent the country’s large Muslim minority from practising their religion. In a speech on terrorism and democracy coming in the midst of a debate on the banning of the Islamic burkini swimsuit, Hollande said: “Nothing in the […]
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Turkish PM urges governors to be bold against terrorism
ANKARA, (APP/Anatolia): Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Thursday called on provincial governors to take steps against eastern and southeastern Turkish municipalities “that are linked to terrorism”. Yildirim told a governors’ meeting in the capital Ankara: “In accordance with [a recent] statutory decree, provincial governors have been fully authorized [to do what is necessary] in the […]
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Nepal’s new leader pledges to speed up quake rebuilding
KATHMANDU, (APP/AFP) – Nepal’s new prime minister promised Thursday to speed up reconstruction after a devastating earthquake and said he would increase aid for homeless victims as he laid out his government’s priorities. The previous administration had been heavily criticised for the slow pace of rebuilding, with a $4.1 billion reconstruction fund largely untouched over […]
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EU-Canada air passenger deal illegal: court advisor
LUXEMBOURG, (APP/AFP) – An EU-Canada deal to share air passenger data in a bid to fight terrorism cannot be passed in its present form as it would breach privacy laws, the chief legal advisor to the European Union’s top court said Thursday. The European Court of Justice’s advocate general said he reached the conclusion based […]
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Heavy fighting as Taliban breach southern Afghan city
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, (APP/AFP) – Heavy fighting flared in Tarin Kot Thursday as Taliban insurgents pushed inside the capital of the southern Afghan province of Uruzgan, local residents and officials said. “The Taliban have entered the city and are fighting to take over police and NDS (intelligence agency) headquarters, and we fear they will storm the […]