WORLD

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | Ministers from 13 European and African countries on Monday pledged steps to ease the migrant crisis around the Mediterranean, vowing especially to improve conditions for migrants held in Libya. Interior ministers and other representatives from countries impacted by the ongoing wave of migration up through Africa …

Sochi, Russia | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in Sochi on Monday, with efforts to bring peace to Syria set to dominate their talks at the Black Sea resort. Despite being on opposing sides of the Syrian conflict, Russia and Turkey have …

Washington, United States | AFP | Hate crimes across the United States accelerated in 2016 as the divisive election battle that saw Donald Trump elected president progressed, FBI statistics showed Monday. Hate crimes — acts motivated by bias toward race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or gender — rose overall for the …

Bonn, Germany | AFP | Climate change imperils one in four natural World Heritage sites, including coral reefs, glaciers, and wetlands — nearly double the number from just three years ago, a report said Monday. The number of sites at risk has grown to 62 from 35 in 2014, when one …

Paris, France | AFP | UNESCO’s new chief on Monday brushed aside the United States’ decision to walk out of the UN cultural body, saying the organisation had survived long periods without Washington before. Former French culture minister Audrey Azoulay, elected on Friday to head UNESCO, said the US was “not …

Paris, France | AFP | In his first six months in power, French President Emmanuel Macron has chalked up one reform after another in a whirlwind that has nevertheless seen his poll numbers plummet. The former investment banker’s stunning rise cast aside France’s traditional left and right, creating a solid centrist …

Beirut, Lebanon | AFP | Saad Hariri, whose resignation as Lebanon’s prime minister a week ago sent shock waves across the region, said Sunday he is “free” in Saudi Arabia and will return to Lebanon “very soon”. In an interview from Riyadh with his party’s Future TV, Hariri brushed aside rumours …

Manila, Philippines | AFP | Donald Trump said Sunday he backed the US intelligence agencies which concluded that Russia meddled in the 2016 US presidential election, but slammed “fools” who oppose better ties with Moscow. Key former Trump aides are under US investigation for possible collaboration with the Kremlin, and …

Tehran, Iran | AFP | From a Yemeni missile attack to the resignation of Lebanon’s prime minister, the “Cold War” between Middle East rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran has been heating up. Experts believe the risk of a direct military clash is low, but why have tensions escalated now and how …

Ljubljana, Slovenia | AFP | Slovenia’s internet-savvy President Borut Pahor on Sunday won a second term in a runoff vote that was marred by an abysmally low turnout. Centre-left ex-premier Pahor, 54, had been touted to win in October, but a record low 44-percent turnout triggered a repeat vote, with 1.7 …