WORLD

Sao Paulo, Brazil | THE INDEPENDENT & AFP | Hundreds of naked cyclists rode their bikes along Paulista Avenue in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to demand better condition of the city roads and to raise awareness on the safety of cyclists. The ride on Saturday, organised by the World Naked Bike Ride (WNBR) …

Moscow, RUSSIAN FEDERATION | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an order to shoot down a passenger plane he believed would be used in a terror attack at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, he said in a new documentary. The plane was travelling from Ukraine to Turkey when Putin …

Vienna, Austria | AFP | Austria on Monday marks the 80th anniversary of its annexation by Nazi Germany, with the country’s President Alexander Van der Bellen urging young people not to be “taken in” by neo-fascist and far-right ideologies. On March 12, 1938, Adolf Hitler ordered 200,000 soldiers, SS officers and …

Beirut, Lebanon | AFP | Children are at more risk than ever in Syria’s devastating conflict, the United Nations said Monday as the war approached its eighth year. Twice as many children were killed in the war in 2017 than in the previous year, the UN children’s agency UNICEF said in …

New Delhi, India | AFP | French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday pledged hundreds of millions of dollars for solar projects in developing countries, as world leaders met in India to promote greater investment in renewable energy. Macron, who in December warned that the global shift to a green energy future …

Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that under no circumstances would he give Crimea back to Ukraine, speaking in a new documentary released Sunday ahead of his expected re-election in next week’s poll. “What, have you gone mad?” he told a journalist who asked him if …

Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday angrily lashed out at NATO, accusing the Western military alliance of failing to back Turkey’s campaign against Kurdish militia in Syria. Erdogan’s latest comments were among the toughest he has directed in recent times against NATO, which Turkey joined …

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Saudi King Salman has ordered specialised anti-corruption units to be established in the public prosecutor’s office, the government said Sunday, several weeks after a sweeping anti-graft purge of the kingdom’s elite. The move was intended to “increase effectiveness” and accelerate the process of combating corruption, …

Mattis Muscat, Oman | AFP | US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said Sunday he would not be speaking about the delicate situation with North Korea, saying the White House and State Department are leading the negotiations. “This is a diplomatically led effort,” Mattis told reporters when asked about a possible meeting …

Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition accused the embattled premier on Sunday of perpetuating a “fake crisis” over a political dispute to potentially force early elections. The dispute comes as Netanyahu faces a possible indictment on bribery charges in the coming months. Polls suggest …