An overnight airstrike hit the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, home to the Taliban government’s supreme leader, a resident told AFP early Thursday. Pakistan’s minister of information said its forces had struck 10 targets in Afghanistan — without specifying where — accusing its neighbour of allowing “terrorist sanctuaries” on its soil. The latest strikes come […]
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North Korea will keep its nuclear weapons “forever”, its foreign minister vowed Thursday, dismissing the South Korean president’s renewed calls for a denuclearised Korean Peninsula. Pyongyang has legally enshrined its status as a nuclear-armed state, with its leadership repeatedly declaring the country’s atomic arsenal permanent and irreversible. The foreign minister’s remarks came a day after […]
Read MoreThe tsunami-like flood that cut a swathe of destruction through Nepal on August 26 has left the Himalayan nation grappling with heavy losses and mounting reconstruction needs. One month on, AFP looks at the scale of the disaster triggered by a high-altitude glacial mountain collapse on the China-Nepal border, which scientists have linked to climate […]
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Führende Wirtschaftsforschungsinstitute legen am Donnerstag in Berlin ihre aktuelle Gemeinschaftsdiagnose vor (10.00 Uhr). Sie dürfte deutlich besser ausfallen als ihre Frühjahrsprognose, die sie wegen des Iran-Kriegs nach unten korrigiert hatten. Sie rechneten damals mit 0,6 Prozent Wachstum in diesem und mit 1,1 Prozent im kommenden Jahr. In den vergangenen Wochen hatten die einzelnen Wirtschaftsforschungsinstitute ihre […]
Read MoreThe Trump administration has acknowledged eight suicide attempts by US service members during the extended deployment of an aircraft carrier to the Middle East, a US lawmaker revealed on Wednesday. The information emerged in a letter, seen by AFP, that was sent by Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao in response to questions from Democratic Senator […]
Read MoreWhen a famous Iranian director sets out to make a movie about men having to live as women, she quickly finds that her actors struggle with the restrictions placed on the female half of society. That’s the premise of “Head to Head,” a meta-comedy that highlights gender disparities in the Islamic republic, where women’s dress […]
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Stores and schools closed and drivers mostly stayed off the roads Wednesday as the Colombian city of Santa Marta limped back to normal after a wave of drug-gang violence prompted a deployment of army troops. Authorities urged businesses in the touristy Caribbean city to open their doors after attacks by gang members subsided, but to […]
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Iranian airlines were forced to cancel some international flights on Wednesday after the United States tightened sanctions on Iran’s aviation industry in a new effort to cripple its economy. Georgia and Azerbaijan have officially confirmed suspending flights, and a travel agent in Tehran told AFP that flights to Baghdad, Muscat and Qatar were also halted, […]
Read MoreMorocco’s parliamentary election drew a turnout of 38 percent, authorities said on Wednesday, marking the lowest level in almost two decades as the kingdom struggled with voter apathy amid social crises. Nearly 16 million people were registered to vote, with many voicing frustrations about unemployment and inequality ahead of the polls. The election came less […]
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