WORLD

Washington, United States | AFP |  President-elect Donald Trump’s habit of firing off tweets, even at such critical times as when forming a new government, is a harmless and legitimate way to “cut through the noise,” one of his top advisors said Monday. Trump was known during the campaign for …

London, United Kingdom | AFP |  Queen Elizabeth II could host Donald Trump within months of him becoming United States president, with the British government confirming Monday that it was considering a state visit next year. Royal officials said that the government was responsible for organising state visits, and a …

New York, United States | AFP | US President-elect Donald Trump prepared Monday to announce a new slate of cabinet picks some time soon, following a busy weekend of meetings with hopefuls at his golf club retreat outside New York. The Republican billionaire-turned-world leader heaped praise on tough-talking retired Marine …

Aleppo, Syria | AFP | Syrian government forces and allied fighters advanced quickly inside rebel-held Aleppo on Monday, pressing an offensive in defiance of international concern for the fate of the city and its civilians. The recapture of the rebel-held east, which fell from government control in 2012, would be …

Paris, France | AFP | Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy crashed out of the presidential election on Sunday, suffering a humiliating defeat in the first round of the rightwing primary. Sarkozy was beaten into third place after a stunning upset by Francois Fillon, who served as his prime minister, with …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP |  Pope Francis prays every day for a sense of humour to help him as head of the Catholic Church, but beware of laughing at his jokes — he can’t abide flatterers. “A sense of humour is a gift I ask for everyday. Because …

  Berlin, Germany | AFP | German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday she would seek a fourth term in elections next year to defend democratic principles in the face of looming threats at home and abroad. Predicting her toughest campaign to date, Merkel said the forces of populism as well …

Pukhrāyān, India | AFP |  Emergency workers raced to find any more survivors in the mangled wreckage of an Indian train that derailed Sunday, killing at least 120 people, in the worst disaster to hit the country’s ageing rail network in recent years. Shocked passengers recalled being jolted out of …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis on Sunday brought to a close the Catholic Church’s “Year of Mercy,” shutting the Holy Door at Saint Peter’s after a year in which he raised Mother Teresa to sainthood and took in Syrian Muslim refugees. The Argentine pontiff, who says …

Colombo, SRI LANKA | AFP |  Sri Lanka’s economy has begun to stabilise after securing a $1.5 billion bailout earlier this year, but the island needs to build its dwindling foreign reserves, the IMF said Saturday. The Washington-based International Monetary Fund said it had just concluded its first review of …