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BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — The agreement reached on Tuesday for Syrian rebels to withdraw from their one-time bastion of east Aleppo is the latest by opposition forces surrounded by government forces. For much of the conflict in Syria, the government has promoted “local reconciliation” deals that have often involved the evacuation from opposition territory of civilians and rebels who have surrendered. The government says such deals are the best way to end the conflict that […]
ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Turkey confirmed Tuesday that a ceasefire deal was agreed following talks between the Syrian opposition and Russia, which would mean rebels evacuating from war-ravaged eastern Aleppo. The agreement comes as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime is close to recapturing all of east Aleppo, which rebels have held since 2012. “We can confirm there is a ceasefire in the city after talks between Russian military and the opposition in eastern Aleppo,” Turkish […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan is postponing a summit with China and South Korea, the government said Tuesday, after the impeachment of South Korean President President Park Geun-Hye. The Asian powers were planning to hold an annual trilateral gathering this month in Japan, which is the rotating chair. South Korea’s parliament voted Friday to impeach Park, who is engulfed in a scandal over her friendship with a long-time confidante who has been charged with meddling […]
by Maria Panina with Ursula Hyzyin Tokyo Agence France Presse MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin heads to Japan Thursday to meet Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the latest bid to reach an elusive deal on a territorial dispute that has prevented their nations signing a formal treaty to end World War II. Abe will host Putin at the hot springs in his ancestral city of Nagato in the hope of breaking the […]
by Rim Haddad with Layal Abou Rahal in Beirut Agence France Presse ALEPPO, Syria (AFP) — The crucial battle for Aleppo entered its “final phase” Monday after Syrian rebels retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. President Bashar al-Assad’s forces held more than 90 percent of the onetime opposition stronghold of east Aleppo, a monitor and military official said, and appeared on the verge of retaking […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — The Kremlin on Monday deplored the lack of cooperation with the United States in Palmyra after Islamic State jihadists re-entered the ancient Syrian city over the weekend. “We regret that we have yet to completely neutralize their offensive,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said of the fighters’ return to the fabled city after an eight-month absence. “We also regret that there still is a lack of coordinated action and real cooperation with […]
HONG KONG, China (Reuters) — Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary John Tsang resigned on Monday (December 12), the city’s government said, and is widely expected to announce his intention to run for the city’s top job in March. There has been months of speculation that 65-year-old Tsang, who tops popularity polls, would step down and enter the race to become the financial hub’s chief executive. Hong Kong’s unpopular incumbent chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, announced last Friday […]
by Samer Al-Atrush / Mostafa Abulezz Agence France Presse CAIRO, Egypt (AFP) – A bomb blast tore through a church near Cairo’s Coptic cathedral during a service Sunday, killing 23 people in the deadliest attack in recent memory on Egypt’s Christian minority. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing, but Coptic Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt’s population, have been previously targeted by jihadists. At least 49 people […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Chinese media warned Donald Trump Monday that the one-China policy is “non-negotiable” and dropping it could lead to Beijing supporting US enemies, after the president-elect said he might do so unless Beijing made concessions. “The one-China policy cannot be traded,” an unsigned online commentary in the nationalistic Global Times said Monday, calling Trump “as ignorant of diplomacy as a child”. It warned that if the US openly supports Taiwan’s independence and […]
ALEPPO, Syria (AFP) — All children in Syria’s battered Aleppo are suffering from trauma after enduring some of the worst violence in their country’s war, the UN children’s agency said on Sunday. “All children in Aleppo are suffering. All are traumatized,” Radoslaw Rzehak, UNICEF’s field office head in Aleppo, told AFP inside the devastated city. “I have never seen in my life such a dramatic situation (as) what is happening to children in Aleppo,” said […]
by Rim Haddad with Rouba El Husseini in Beirut Agence France Presse ALEPPO, Syria (AFP) — Syrian forces pushed forward in Aleppo Sunday as thousands fled rebel-held areas, but they lost ground to the south where the Islamic State group recaptured the ancient city of Palmyra. After a sudden regime withdrawal, IS jihadists made a lightning-fast advance across Palmyra, sparking new concerns for its remaining ancient treasures. Since mid-November, forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad […]
by Jung Ha-Won Agence France Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korean lawmakers on Friday voted to impeach President Park Geun-Hye, stripping away her sweeping executive powers over a corruption scandal and opening a new period of national uncertainty. The National Assembly ballot immediately transferred Park’s authority to the prime minister, pending a decision by the Constitutional Court on whether to ratify the decision and permanently remove the president from office. A ruling […]
