WORLD

  Montreal, Canada | AFP |  Canada’s Quebec province Wednesday prohibited government workers and anyone receiving government services from covering their face, in a move critics say unfairly targets Muslim women who wear a niqab veil. The legislation applies to bureaucrats, police officers, teachers, and bus drivers, as well as …

Beijing, China | AFP |  President Xi Jinping declared China has embarked on a “new era” of challenges and opportunities on Wednesday as he opened a Communist Party congress expected to enhance his already formidable power. Xi told some 2,300 delegates at the imposing Great Hall of the People that …

Singapore, Singapore | AFP | The top US commander in the Pacific warned Tuesday he must “imagine the unimaginable” in responding to the threat posed by the North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme. Admiral Harry Harris, head of the US Pacific Command, made clear that while diplomacy remains the preferred option in …

Beirut, Lebanon | AFP | Syria’s war has spiralled into a complex multi-sided conflict since it began with anti-government protests in March 2011, drawing in regional and international powers including the United States and Russia. Here is a breakdown of the forces involved in the war, which has killed more than …

Paris, France | AFP | A new law will impose on-the-spot fines for harassment of women in the streets of France, a minister said Monday, as the sex scandal engulfing Hollywood honcho Harvey Weinstein encouraged French women to tell their stories. The legislation is being piloted by 34-year-old Marlene Schiappa, …

Washington, United States | AFP |  Celebrities and everyday people flooded social media with personal accounts of sexual assault and harassment Monday, responding to calls to break the culture of silence around such abuse. The massive global response was triggered by allegations recently made public against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, …

United Nations, United States | AFP |  The Democratic Republic of Congo was elected to the UN Human Rights Council on Monday despite opposition from the United States and a leading rights group. DR Congo was among the 15 countries who won seats during a vote at the UN General …

Berlin, Germany | AFP | German Chancellor Angela Merkel faced a regional vote test Sunday, after winning a fourth term with a disappointing showing that has forced her to embark on high-stakes coalition talks. Three weeks after German voters handed Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union its worst result in decades, the leader …

Kabul, Afghanistan | AFP | Afghan police seized a lorry packed with explosives hidden under boxes of tomatoes in Kabul, officials said Sunday, averting a potentially deadly blast in the capital months after a massive truck bomb killed and wounded hundreds. Police shot and wounded the driver of the vehicle …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis declared 35 new saints on Sunday, nearly all of them martyrs drawn from the bloody history of Catholicism’s spread in Latin America. Before a crowd of some 35,000 in St Peter’s square, the pontiff carried out the rite of canonisation for 30 …