International

Trump Whisperer’ Conway named White House counselor

by Stephanie Griffith Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — More than just a trusted adviser, Kellyanne Conway earned the nickname “Trump Whisperer” on the US presidential campaign trail for an uncanny ability to soothe and soften the brash real estate magnate. Conway on Thursday was rewarded for her gifts — and her political acumen as driver of Donald Trump’s successful campaign strategy — with an influential White House post as counselor to the […]

Ebola vaccine may be ‘up to 100% effective’: WHO

by Marlowe Hood Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — A prototype vaccine for Ebola may be “up to 100 percent effective” in protecting against the deadly virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday. If all goes well, the vaccine could become available in 2018 under a fast-track approval process, it said. In a major clinical trial, nearly 6,000 people in Guinea were given the test vaccine last year, at the tail end of […]

In Aleppo, Assad supporters shout their joy after regime victory

by Maher Al Mounes Agence France Presse ALEPPO, Syria (AFP) — Thousands of people in western Aleppo took to the streets Thursday, rejoicing in the Syrian regime’s operation to retake the eastern side of their city from rebels after a years-long battle. Celebratory gunfire began to erupt and crowds began to fill the streets as soon as the army announced the last rebels had left east Aleppo. The western side of the city had been […]

Trump calls on Boeing to offer quote for F-35 rival

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday said he had asked Boeing to provide a price estimate for a new F-18 fighter jet, after bemoaning the soaring costs of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 stealth fighter. “Based on the tremendous cost and cost overruns of the Lockheed Martin F-35, I have asked Boeing to price-out a comparable F-18 Super Hornet!” Trump tweeted. His message came the day after he met with some of the […]

China starts regular charter flights to disputed Paracels

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China began daily civilian charter flights to Woody Island in the contested South China Sea Thursday, the official Xinhua news agency said, in a move likely to raise regional tensions. Beijing asserts sovereignty over almost all of the strategically vital South China Sea despite rival claims from Southeast Asian neighbours and has rapidly built reefs into artificial islands capable of hosting military planes. It landed its first passenger plane in Sansha […]

Russia bids farewell to slain Turkey envoy

by Maria Antonova Agence France Presse MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia on Thursday laid to rest its envoy Andrei Karlov after a packed memorial ceremony in Moscow for the diplomat who was assassinated by an off-duty policeman in Ankara this week. Dozens of colleagues and relatives attended the ceremony for Karlov, the ambassador to Turkey whose death Moscow labelled an act of terror. Russian President Vladimir Putin laid red roses at the foot of Karlov’s […]

Putin urges Russian nuclear weapons boost

by Maria ANTONOVA MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called for the country to reinforce its military nuclear potential and praised the army’s performance in its Syria campaign. In a speech that recapped military activities in 2016,Putin said the army’s preparedness has “considerably increased” and called for continued improvement that would ensure it can “neutralize any military threat”. “We need to strengthen the military potential of strategic nuclear forces, especially with […]

Merkel hopes for ‘quick arrest’ of Berlin market attacker

by Deborah COLE Agence France Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel voiced hope Thursday that the prime suspect in Berlin’s deadly truck attack would be caught quickly, after it emerged that the Tunisian rejected asylum seeker was a known jihadist. In an act of defiance, Berliners flocked to the same market that witnessed the murder of 12 people on Monday, as it reopened for the first time in three days. Just as […]

310,000 dead, 4.8m refugees: Syria’s war in numbers

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — Syria’s conflict has killed more than 310,000 people, uprooted over half the population and left much of the country in ruins since it erupted almost six years ago. Here are some key statistics: Huge death toll The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said last week it had recorded the deaths of 312,001 people since the conflict began with anti-government protests in March 2011. Those killed included 90,000 civilians, of which 16,000 […]

Aleppo’s fall seals victory for authoritarian alliance

by Cécile Feulitarre Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — The fall of Aleppo marks the victory of an authoritarian alliance stretching from Tehran to Moscow, analysts say — and the biggest win yet for President Bashar al-Assad since civil war erupted in 2011. His regime’s total control over east Aleppo, declared Thursday, was obtained with pitiless brute force that has reduced much of the country’s former economic heart to rubble, in a war that […]

Trump calls for increased US nuclear capabilities

by Thomas Watkins Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — America must massively boost its nuclear capability until the “world comes to its senses,” President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday, hours after a similar vow by Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Trump made the statement on Twitter, without providing details or context, a day after meeting a group of Pentagon top brass, and shortly after Putin called for Russia to reinforce its own nuclear capabilities. “The United […]

Aleppo’s fall seals victory for authoritarian alliance

by Cécile FEUILLATRE Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) – The fall of Aleppo marks the victory of an authoritarian alliance stretching from Tehran to Moscow, analysts say — and the biggest win yet for President Bashar al-Assad since civil war erupted in 2011. His regime’s total control over east Aleppo, declared Thursday, was obtained with pitiless brute force that has reduced much of the country’s former economic heart to rubble, in a war that has […]