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BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) – by Aidan JONES Boonradom Chitradon Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn became the king of Thailand late Thursday, opening a new chapter for the powerful monarchy in a country still mourning the death of his father. The 64-year-old inherits one of the world’s richest monarchies as well as a politically febrile nation, and was proclaimed 50 days after King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s death. After weeks of complex palace protocols the prince was invited by […]
(Reuters) Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, 64, became Thailand’s new king on Thursday after he accepted an invitation from parliament to succeed his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died in October. King Bhumibol, 88, was widely loved and regarded as a pillar of stability during decades of political turbulence and rapid development in the Southeast Asian nation. Prince Vajiralongkorn, who will be known as King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, according to a statement released by parliament’s […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea’s ruling party on Thursday urged scandal-hit President Park Geun-Hye to step down in April next year, giving her a week to accept their ultimatum or risk impeachment. Park this week said she would be willing to step down early after coming under huge pressure to quit over an influence peddling scandal that has drawn more than a million people onto the streets in protest. The ruling Saenuri Party’s 128 […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea’s scandal-hit President Park Geun-Hye said Tuesday she was willing to stand down early and would let parliament decide on her fate. “I will leave the issue of my departure, including the (possible) reduction of my term in office, to a decision by the National Assembly”, she said in a speech carried live on television. “Once lawmakers come up with measures to transfer power in a way that minimises any […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani on Monday expressed support for OPEC’s plans to limit the cartel’s output ahead of a crucial meeting this week. In a telephone conversation, the two leaders said the cartel’s efforts were “an essential element” for returning stability to global oil prices, a Kremlin statement said. “The importance of steps taken by OPEC to limit the production of commodities was emphasized as […]
by Karam al-Masri with Sara Hussein in Beirut ALEPPO, Syria (AFP) — Syria’s rebels lost all of the northern neighborhoods of their stronghold in east Aleppo on Monday, as the army made significant advances in its offensive to recapture the entire city. The regime gains have prompted an exodus of thousands of desperate civilians, some fleeing to districts held by the government or Kurdish forces, others heading south into areas still under opposition control. “The […]
Kuwait City, Kuwait ( AFP) – by Omar Hassan Kuwaitis vote Saturday to elect the seventh parliament in a decade in the oil-rich Gulf emirate, at a time of sharp disputes over subsidy cuts due to falling oil revenues. The snap polls see the return of opposition groups after a four-year boycott in protest at the government’s amendment of the electoral law. The emir dissolved the last parliament after MPs called for ministers to be grilled over subsidy […]
JERUSALEM, Israel (AFP) — Israel will order 17 more US-made F-35 warplanes to take its fleet of stealthy Joint Strike Fighters to 50 over the next few years, the premier’s office said Sunday. A statement from Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the green light for the order was given by the security cabinet. The Jewish state is due to take delivery of its first F-35s next month. US officials and industry executives insist the plane promises […]
HAIFA, Israel (Reuters) — Wildfires tore across central and northern Israel on Friday (November 25) forcing tens of thousands of residents to flee the city of Haifa, as leaders blamed arsonists for some of the blazes and branded them “terrorists”. The fires have been burning in multiple locations for the past three days but intensified on Thursday (November 24), fueled by unseasonably dry weather and strong easterly winds. With fires burning in the forests west of […]
TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Friday (November 25) that Russia’s deployment of missile systems on islands in the western Pacific isles that are also claimed by Tokyo was “regrettable”. His comments came less than a month before Russian President Vladimir Putin is to visit Japan for talks aimed at progress on the decades-old territorial row. Moscow has already said it hoped the deployment would not damage efforts to settle […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — President Vladimir Putin on Thursday joked with a schoolboy that Russia’s borders “don’t end anywhere”. Putin was speaking at a televised awards ceremony held by the Russian Geographical Society. On stage Putin questioned Miroslav Oskirko, a nine-year-old prodigy who said he knew the borders of every country in the world. Putin asked the boy where Russia’s borders ended, with Oskirko saying “Russia’s borders end at the Bering Strait with the United […]
by Abbas al-Ani with Max Delany in Mosul HILLA, Iraq (AFP) — A suicide bombing claimed by the Islamic State group killed at least 70 people, mainly Shiite pilgrims, south of Baghdad Thursday, as Iraqi forces battle to retake Mosul from the jihadists. The huge truck bomb blast ripped through a petrol station where buses packed with faithful returning from the Arbaeen commemoration in Karbala were parked, officials said. Most of the victims were Iranians, […]
