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LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Global progress on controlling malaria risks stalling due to an “urgent need” for more funding, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned in its annual report Tuesday. Overall, the number of new cases fell by 21 percent between 2010 and 2015, and mortality rates fell by 29 percent — 31 percent in the African region. But globally there were still 212 million new cases and 429,000 deaths last year, and 43 […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President-elect Donald Trump took aim Monday at a second US aerospace giant in as many weeks, this time attacking the F-35 stealth fighter and its “out of control” costs. With a current development and acquisition price tag of $379 billion for a total of 2,443 F-35 aircraft — most of them destined for the Air Force — the Lockheed Martin-built plane is the most expensive in history, and costs are […]
UNITED NATION, United States (AFP) — UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is alarmed by reports of atrocities against “a large number” of civilians, including women and children, in recent hours in the Syrian city of Aleppo, his spokesman said Monday. “While stressing that the United Nations is not able to independently verify these reports, the secretary-general is conveying his grave concern to the relevant parties,” said spokesman Stephane Dujarric. Ban has asked his envoy Staffan de […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Barack Obama’s White House on Monday took aim at Donald Trump’s recent comments on Taiwan, saying the long-standing alliance should not be used as a “bargaining chip” with Beijing. “Taiwan is not a source of leverage, it’s a close partner of the United States,” said White House spokesman Josh Earnest, in an unusually direct criticism of Trump’s remarks. Earnest’s comments come after the president-elect suggested he could jettison Washington’s […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The threat from the Islamic State group will likely endure for years to come, even if it loses all the territory it once held under its so-called “caliphate,” experts warned Monday. In a report, 20 experts on the Middle East and jihadism also described how organizations such as Al-Qaeda and the group formerly known as the Al-Nusra Front are adapting methods and continuing to expand. A US-led coalition has since […]
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 […]
by Paul Handley with Jennie Matthew in New York Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Leading senators on Monday supported a congressional investigation into US intelligence assessments that Russia interfered in the election, putting top Republicans on a collision course with incoming president Donald Trump. The president-elect has dismissed the intelligence reports as “ridiculous” defying an increasing number of senators from his own party, as well as top Democrats, the Central Intelligence Agency […]
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 […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – US President-elect Donald Trump on Monday formally nominated retired Marine general John Kelly to be his secretary of homeland security — the third former general tapped to join the Republican billionaire’s inner circle. The following is a list of key cabinet and other nominations made so far by Trump, who takes office on January 20: Cabinet Attorney General: Jeff Sessions, 69 One of Trump’s earliest supporters during the campaign, the […]
by Raziye Akkoc with Ezzedine Said in Istanbul Agence France Presse ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) – Turkey detained over 200 people including dozens of officials from pro-Kurdish parties and struck Kurdish militants in Iraq Monday in response to this weekend’s twin bombings claimed by a radical Kurd separatist group. The toll from Saturday’s attacks near an Istanbul football stadium and an adjacent park rose to 44 Monday, Health Minister Recep Akdag said. Most of the dead were police […]
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 […]
