WORLD

Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russia’s Supreme Court Monday confirmed a ban on Jehovah’s Witnesses, labelled by authorities as an “extremist organisation”. “The Russian Supreme Court has decided to reject the appeal of the organisation against its ban,” the court, quoted by RIA-Novosti news agency, said in its decision. In April, …

Washington, United States | AFP |  Two more US Republican senators announced their opposition Monday to their party’s efforts to revamp Obamacare, derailing the controversial legislation in its current form and potentially dealing a monumental setback to President Donald Trump. Republican leaders are desperate for a major legislative victory this …

  Brussels, Belgium | AFP | Britain and the EU vowed to get to the “heart of the matter” as they launched fresh Brexit negotiations in Brussels on Monday, even as bitter infighting gripped the British government. Brexit minister David Davis met EU negotiator Michel Barnier for a second round of …

Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkey’s parliament voted on Monday to renew a state of emergency in effect since last year’s failed coup attempt sparked the biggest crackdown in the country’s modern history. The state-run Anadolu news agency said lawmakers agreed to a three-month extension of the current emergency law, which …

Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes the southwest Syria ceasefire agreed by Russia and the US since it would enable Iran to solidify its presence there, an official said Monday. The July 9 accord creating a de-escalation zone in the Daraa, Quneitra and Sweida regions includes …

  Washington, United States | AFP |  The future of the Republican effort to squash Obamacare hung in the balance Monday with Senator John McCain, whose vote is needed to pass the legislation, recovering from surgery away from Washington. There are no votes to spare in the contentious effort to …

Moscow, Russia | AFP |  The Kremlin said Washington must unconditionally restore its access to diplomatic compounds in the United States as high-level talks on bilateral problems were set to get underway on Monday. Russia is angry that Washington is still barring its diplomats from using two compounds in the …

Madrid, Spain | AFP | A Spanish-led European police investigation has broken up an organised crime group that allegedly sold horsemeat across Europe that was “not suitable” for human consumption, officials said Sunday. Police in Spain arrested 65 people suspected of crimes including animal abuse, document forgery, public health violations, money …

Winchester, United Kingdom | AFP | Two hundred years after Jane Austen’s death, Britain is celebrating one of its best-loved authors, who combined romance with biting social commentary that still speaks to fans around the world. The author of classic novels “Pride and Prejudice”, “Emma” and “Sense and Sensibility” had …

Seoul, South Korea | AFP | New images of North Korea’s main nuclear facility show that the isolated regime has apparently produced more plutonium for its weapons programme than previously thought, a US monitor said, as tensions soar over Pyongyang’s ambitions. The respected 38 North website, a monitoring project linked …