WORLD

Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkey and its main regional ally Qatar on Tuesday launched military exercises in the emirate that will involve some 250 Turkish troops and 30 armoured vehicles, reports said. The exercises come as Ankara presses on with its unequivocal backing of Doha in the crisis triggered by …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Rolls-Royce powered back into profit during the first half, propelled by strong deliveries for its Trent aircraft engines, lifting its share price almost ten percent Tuesday. Net profit stood at £1.58 billion ($2.1 billion, 1.77 billion euros) in the six months to June 30 compared …

Brussels, Belgium | AFP | The battle for the spoils of Brexit began Tuesday as 23 European cities launched their bids to host two London-based EU regulatory agencies that will be forced to leave the British capital. Slick videos and glossy brochures abounded as the EU announced that 19 cities were …

Islamabad, Pakistan | AFP | Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, elected as Pakistan’s new prime minister Tuesday, is expected to act as a placeholder for the Sharif dynasty after three-time premier Nawaz Sharif was ousted by the Supreme Court. Considered highly intelligent and a long-time Sharif loyalist, the 58-year-old is the former federal …

Paris, France | AFP | The first flower to appear along the path of plant evolution, during the time of the dinosaurs, was a hermaphrodite with petal-like organs arranged in concentric circles, researchers said Monday. The bloom had both male and female reproductive organs at the centre, surrounded by multiple layers …

Barcelona, Spain | AFP |  Neymar could be presented as a Paris Saint-Germain player as early as this weekend for a world record fee as Barcelona admitted defeat in convincing the Brazilian to stay at the Camp Nou on Wednesday. The player has travelled to Porto by private jet from …

Changes to higher education can empower youth to drive continent’s economic transformation  COMMENT |KIM KERR| When South African university students took to the streets in 2016 as part of the “Fees Must Fall” protest movement, the “decolonisation of the curriculum” was among the movement’s chief concerns. It was a pivotal …

Sincan, Turkey | AFP | Nearly 500 people appeared in court Tuesday in the biggest trial yet of suspects from Turkey’s failed coup, facing charges of conspiring to oust the government from an air base seen as the plotters’ hub. Forty-one of those held were marched into the court outside Ankara …

Washington, United States | AFP | The United States is at risk of being viewed as a “kleptocracy” under President Donald Trump, the former head of the US government ethics office said in an interview published Monday. “His actions create the appearance of profiting from the presidency, and the appearance here …

Washington, United States | AFP | Donald Trump installed retired Marine Corps general John Kelly as his new chief of staff Monday, hoping to bring order and discipline to a White House beset by scandal, infighting, low approval ratings and legislative defeats. Trump confidently predicted the 67-year-old combat veteran — who …