WORLD

Dublin, Ireland | AFP | Ireland announced it will hold a referendum next year on whether to repeal its constitutional ban on abortion in almost all cases — just a few weeks before Pope Francis visits. The government is also planning votes to remove Ireland’s anti-blasphemy law and to reduce the …

San Francisco, United States | AFP | Twitter is testing allowing tweets to be expanded to 280 characters — double the existing limit — in the latest effort to boost flagging growth at the social network. San Francisco-based Twitter said Tuesday that the new limit, a major shift for the messaging …

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Saudi Arabia said Tuesday it would allow women to drive, the last country in the world to do so, sparking euphoria and disbelief among activists in the ultra-conservative kingdom, where social restrictions are increasingly being loosened. The longstanding driving ban was seen internationally as a …

Kabul, Afghanistan | AFP | US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis arrived in Afghanistan Wednesday, the first member of Donald Trump’s cabinet to visit the war-torn country since he pledged to stay the course in America’s longest war. In a sign of the country’s continuing insecurity six rockets landed near Kabul international …

Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russia’s internet watchdog on Tuesday warned Facebook it would be banned in 2018 unless it complies with a law on storing local users’ data. “The law is compulsory for all,” the head of Roskomnadzor telecoms watchdog Alexander Zharov told journalists in Moscow, quoted by Interfax news …

Beijing, China | AFP | Interpol opened its general assembly in Beijing on Tuesday as China seeks greater international help to repatriate alleged criminals — despite accusations it is using the international police organisation for political gain. Nearly 1,000 public security officials and political leaders from 156 countries will discuss terrorism, …

Tehran, Iran | AFP | Iran has sentenced a 74-year-old man to death for hosting “mixed and half-naked parties”, the head of Tehran’s judiciary said on Tuesday. Chief prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said the man led “a corruption gang” which held parties with drugs and alcohol, and where women were “sexually …

London, United Kingdom | AFP |British jeweller Graff said Tuesday it has purchased the world’s largest uncut diamond — roughly the size of a tennis ball — for $53 million (44.5 million euros). Canadian miner Lucara Diamond sold to Graff the 1,109-carat gem, the Lesedi La Rona, which was found …

Stockholm, Sweden | AFP | One week before the announcement of the 2017 Nobel prizes begins, the Nobel Foundation said Monday that this year’s winners will receive a larger monetary award worth over a million dollars. “The Board of Directors of the Nobel Foundation decided at its meeting on September 14 …

Kanuma, Japan | AFP | A series of fatal crashes caused by elderly drivers in Japan has left authorities desperately grappling for ways to clamp down on a problem that experts warn is only going to get worse as the population ages. Drivers over 65 were responsible for 965 deadly accidents …