WORLD

Arbil, Iraq | AFP | Iraqi Kurds voted in an independence referendum Monday, defying warnings from Baghdad and their neighbours in a historic step towards a national dream. The non-binding vote, initiated by veteran leader Massud Barzani, has angered not only Iraq’s federal government but also neighbouring Turkey and Iran, who …

Kidega identified as gunman who killed one, wounds six outside Nashville  Washington, United States | AFP |  Police says that the masked gunman who opened fire Sunday at a church near Nashville, Tennessee, killing a woman and wounding six more people, is Sudan-born longtime US resident Emanuel Samson Kidega. The suspect, …

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | Swiss voters rejected on Sunday a divisive pension reform plan that the government proposed to address the needs of an ageing population. The final results showed 52.7 percent of voters said no to changes to the current system which would have raised women’s retirement age by …

Washington, United States | AFP | Two Republican senators signalled strong opposition Sunday to their party’s latest bid to overhaul Obamacare, dealing a potentially fatal blow to one President Donald Trump’s top legislative goals. Senator Susan Collins of Maine said she cannot “envision a scenario” in which she would back the …

Los Angeles, United States | AFP | A wave of protests swept National Football League games on Sunday after US President Donald Trump called for players demonstrating against racial inequality during the national anthem to be fired. Dozens of players at several games across the league chose to kneel during the …

Berlin, Germany | AFP |  Chancellor Angela Merkel clinched a fourth term in Germany’s general election on Sunday, but her victory was clouded by the hard-right AfD party winning its first seats in parliament. Merkel, who after 12 years in power held a double-digit lead for most of the campaign, …

Beijing, China | AFP | China will limit exports of refined petroleum products to North Korea starting October 1, its commerce ministry said, confirming Beijing’s participation in new UN sanctions intended to rein in its rogue neighbour. The United Nations Security Council, including permanent member Beijing, approved tough sanctions against Pyongyang …

Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israel’s Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Saturday denounced Iran’s testing of a medium-range missile as a “provocation” and said it was proof of Tehran’s ambition to become a world power. Iran on Saturday said it had successfully tested a missile with a range of 2,000 kilometres …

Berlin, Germany | AFP | Chancellor Angela Merkel and her rival Martin Schulz rallied voters on the eve of Sunday’s election, urging Germans to shun the first hard-right party expected to enter parliament in force since the end of World War II. Merkel, the clear frontrunner after 12 years in power …

Wellington, New Zealand | AFP | For decades New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has been known as “The Kingmaker” — a role the populist anti-immigration campaigner is set to play again after the country’s general election ended in a stalemate. New Zealand’s complex proportional voting system means minor parties usually …