WORLD

Shanghai, China | AFP | Two of China’s top steelmakers announced plans Tuesday to merge,creating the world’s second-largest manufacturer of the commodity as markets struggle with a glut caused by Chinese overcapacity. The world’s second largest economy is trying to overhaul its lumbering state sector and especially its steel industry, …

Aleppo, Syria | AFP |  A convoy delivering aid to Syrians in Aleppo province was hit by a deadly air strike hours after the Syrian military declared an end to a week-long ceasefire, with an outraged UN warning it could amount to a war crime. The UN said at least …

New York, United States | AFP |  The Afghan-born American wanted in connection with weekend bombings in New York and New Jersey was taken into custody on Monday following a shootout with police, US television networks reported. Ahmad Khan Rahami, 28, was taken into custody by police in Linden, New …

New York, United States | AFP | New York authorities said Monday they are seeking a 28-year-old man in connection with a bombing in the city that injured 29 people. Police and the FBI released a photo of Ahmad Khan Rahami, a naturalized US citizen of Afghan origin, saying he …

Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russia’s ruling United Russia party has cruised to an easy victory in parliamentary polls that could pave the way for President Vladimir Putin to glide to a fourth term in 2018 elections, partial results showed. Sunday’s ballot for the 450-seat State Duma was smooth sailing …

Montreal, Canada | AFP |  Through his foundation, billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates is the top nongovernmental donor to the Global Fund against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, with plans to give $600 million between 2017-2019. In an interview with AFP, Gates said the Global Fund’s successes have given him hope, even …

New York, United States | AFP |  An explosion rocked one of the most fashionable neighborhoods of New York on Saturday night, injuring 29 people, one seriously, a week after America’s financial capital marked the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Mayor Bill de Blasio indicated the blast was not …

United Nations, United States | AFP |  A young Iraqi woman who survived rape and abuse as a sex slave of Islamic State fighters has became a UN goodwill ambassador for the dignity of survivors of human trafficking. Nadia Murad Basee Taha, a 23-year-old Yazidi woman, called for justice for the …

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | AFP | Brazil’s been partying hard for five years, hosting a string of international mega-events that end this Sunday with the Paralympics. So is it time for the hangover? There was the 2014 football World Cup, the Confederations Cup, the Rio+20 United Nations environmental summit, …

Washington, United States | AFP |  A series of shootings that began with an apparently unprovoked attack on a Philadelphia policewoman left two people dead and five injured, police said Saturday. The suspected gunman was among the dead. The attack came in a year marked by attacks on police in …