WORLD

Dubai, United Arab Emirates | AFP | A surprise UAE troop drawdown in war-torn Yemen aims to restore the Gulf country’s reputation, but may strain ties with key ally Saudi Arabia at a time of heightened tensions with Iran, experts say. “The political, reputational and operational risks Abu Dhabi incurred in …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | The Vatican will dig up two graves Thursday after an anonymous tip-off that they may contain the remains of an Italian teenager who went missing 36 years ago. Emanuela Orlandi, the daughter of Vatican employee, was last seen leaving a music class aged 15, …

Beirut, Lebanon | AFP |  Syria’s eight-year war has seen the Damascus regime lose control of key oil fields and caused state hydrocarbon revenues to plummet by billions of dollars. Weak production has forced President Bashar al-Assad’s regime to import oil, but Western sanctions on Damascus and Tehran are hampering incoming …

Wiesbaden, Germany | AFP | An Iraqi man faces his verdict in Germany Wednesday over the rape and murder of a teenage girl that fuelled far-right protests against a mass influx of mostly Muslim migrants. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and other extremists have seized on the brutal killing of …

Stockholm, Sweden | AFP | Sweden’s top court on Tuesday rejected a Beijing extradition request for a Chinese man accused of economic crimes because of risks of persecution and the death penalty in China. Qiao Jianjun, a former official of the Chinese state grain administration, is wanted by Beijing under a …

Paris, France | AFP | Spitting is frowned upon in polite society — unless of course the spitter is engaged in tasting wines. “It’s by spitting out the wine that you will be even more distinguished in society,” pleads Pierre-Jules Peyrat, a Paris sommelier. Holding forth before a rapt crowd at …

Paris, France | AFP | Climate change combined with galloping tropical deforestation is cutting off wildlife from life-saving cooler climes, heightening the risk of extinction, researchers said Monday. Less than two-fifths of forests across Latin America, Asia and Africa currently allow for animals and plants to avoid potentially intolerable increases in …

Paris, France | AFP | Girls in developing countries must be protected from sexual violence in and around schools, the head of the UN’s children fund has said, urging governments to make it a top priority. Speaking to AFP on the sidelines of a G7 ministerial summit in Paris, UNICEF chief …

Paris, France | AFP | It was the biggest piece of supposed fake news before the term “fake news” was even invented. Millions of people across the world still believe that no one has ever walked on the Moon, and that the images that NASA broadcast in July 1969 were shot …

Bihac, Bosnia and Herzegovina | AFP |  Stranded in Bosnia, thousands of migrants face yet one more hurdle on their journey towards the European Union: the scorching summer heat in the Balkans. Under a leaden sky, Saleh Alhasan and his friends hurry to reach the shade of the woods after failing …