WORLD

Sydney, Australia | AFP |  Watergate pales in comparison to the scandals engulfing Donald Trump and the Russia connection, former top US intelligence official James Clapper said Wednesday ahead of a key Senate hearing in Washington. Clapper, who has worked in intelligence under every US leader from John F. Kennedy …

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP |  US President Donald Trump threw his weight behind efforts to isolate Qatar on Tuesday, backing Saudi Arabia and its allies after they cut ties with Doha over claims it supports extremism. In a surprise move against a key US ally, Trump suggested Qatar — …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP |  Sudan on Monday offered to launch “reconciliation” efforts between Qatar and its neighbouring Gulf Arab countries that have cut diplomatic ties with Doha after accusing it of supporting extremism. Arab nations Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Yemen announced earlier Monday that …

Kuwait City, Kuwait | AFP | Kuwait emir on Monday received a top Saudi envoy and phoned Qatar’s ruler in an apparent mediation effort after the kingdom and several Gulf states severed ties with Doha. The state-run KUNA news agency said Prince Khaled al-Faisal, an adviser to Saudi King Salman …

Orlando, United States |  A man who had been fired in April from his job at a Florida company opened fire Monday at the Orlando business, killing five people before taking his own life, authorities said. Four people were killed at the scene, while a fifth died at the hospital, …

Beijing, China | AFP | China has expressed “firm opposition” to remarks made by US Pentagon chief Jim Mattis during a regional defence summit over the weekend, after he criticised Beijing’s “militarisation” of the South China Sea. Washington has repeatedly expressed concerns that China’s development of artificial islands in the …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP |  Egypt on Monday announced it was cutting diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing Doha of supporting “terrorism”, as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates adopted similar measures. Egypt “has decided to sever its diplomatic relations with the state of Qatar,” the foreign affairs ministry …

Washington, United States | AFP | The World Bank is keeping its forecast for global growth in 2017 unchanged, because for the first time in years, no new risks have arisen to threaten the outlook. “Over the past four years this is the first time we didn’t have a downgrade …

Washington, United States | AFP |  Donald Trump lashed out Sunday at London’s mayor Sadiq Khan, accusing him of downplaying the threat of terrorism a day after knife-wielding men mowed down and stabbed revelers in the British capital. London’s mayor swiftly shot down the US president’s remarks, made in a …

In Turin, 200 injured in Juve fan panic after bomb scare – police London, United Kingdom | AFP | Police are dealing with a “major incident” on London Bridge, Transport for London said on Saturday, after witnesses reported seeing a van mounting the pavement and hitting pedestrians. “Police are dealing with …