WORLD

Sochi, Russia | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that efforts to end Syria’s six-year war were entering “a new stage” ahead of a planned meeting of Syrian government officials and opposition leaders, warning both sides that compromise would be necessary. The new talks should happen soon, Putin said …

San Francisco, United States | AFP | Facebook on Wednesday said it will help people see if they liked or followed posts considered part of a Russian effort to meddle with last year’s US election. A software tool to be released by the end of this year will allow users to …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis will meet Rohingya Muslim refugees from Myanmar in Dhaka when he visits the Bangladeshi capital next week, a Vatican spokesman said Wednesday. Francis, who has repeatedly spoken out over the persecution of the religious minority by the Myanmar authorities, will meet a …

Paris, France | AFP | French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday said that auctions of Africans as slaves in Libya, shown in footage broadcast by CNN, qualified as “crimes against humanity”. “France denounces this completely,” he said after meeting in Paris with African Union chief Alpha Conde, adding “we need …

Paris, France | AFP | France called Wednesday for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss slave-trading in Libya following video footage showing Africans being auctioned off in the war-torn country. “France decided this morning to ask for an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council to …

New York, United States | AFP | Sixty percent of US women voters say they have experienced sexual harassment and more than two-thirds of them said it happened at work, a nationwide poll revealed Tuesday. The findings come as the United States grapples with sexual assault and harassment scandals that have …

The Hague, Netherlands | AFP |  UN judges Wednesday sentenced former Bosnian Serbian commander Ratko Mladic to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of genocide and war crimes in the brutal Balkans conflicts over two decades ago. The trial of the man dubbed “The Butcher of Bosnia” was the last …

Paris, France | AFP | Airbus said Tuesday that its A350-1000 widebody aircraft had received certification from US and European aviation authorities, clearing the way for its delivery and entry into service. A longer version of the Airbus A350-900, the twin-engine plane can accomodate an extra 40 people, taking its total …

Chicago, United States | AFP | It has stood alone, closed to visitors, for a decade — a historic replica built on the site of the first McDonald’s franchise restaurant in the Chicago suburb of Des Plaines. The fast food giant on Tuesday said it will demolish the time capsule from …

Madrid, Spain | AFP | Spain on Tuesday defended holding in prison nearly 500 migrants who arrived in the country by boat. Following criticism by rights groups, the Spanish government said it was due to a lack of space at immigration detention centres. “We feel it is better that the migrants …