International

BEIJING: A special train believed to be carrying Kim Jong-un departed Beijing on Wednesday after a two-day visit by the North Korean leader to the Chinese capital. Kim could not be seen, but he was presumed to be on board the long train as it crossed on elevated tracks over a busy Beijing street and headed towards eastern China and …

LONDON: British MPs voted on Wednesday to force Prime Minister Theresa May to quickly set out an alternative plan for Brexit if she loses a crucial vote on her EU withdrawal deal next week, in a second parliamentary defeat in 24 hours. The House of Commons voted to reduce the time the government has to outline a “plan B” from …

WASHINGTON: The US military is drafting plans to withdraw a few thousand troops from Afghanistan, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday, adding that the reduction will not affect major missions. The drafting follows instructions from US President Donald Trump to send him options for pulling out from a war, the longest in American history. The Post reported that the Pentagon …

KABUL: Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah said on Wednesday that the Taliban’s refusal to involve the government in peace talks means the end to a conflict that has lasted 17 years can only remain a dream. Abdullah’s remarks came a day after the Taliban called off a fourth round of talks with US officials in Qatar, due to start this …

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump used a prime-time address to the nation on Tuesday to insist on $5.7 billion for a steel wall along the Mexican border that he said would stop the shedding of “American blood” by illegal immigrants. The nine-minute speech from the storied Oval Office in the White House contained no concessions to Democrats refusing to fund construction …

Chinese President Xi Jinping offered North Korean leader Kim Jong Un firm backing in deadlocked nuclear talks with the United States, insisting the two sides should meet “halfway”, state media said on Thursday. Kim visited Beijing by train this week for two days of talks that reasserted China’s role in the process, and were seen as a strategy session ahead of …

BERLIN: Deadly winter weather blasted Europe for yet another day on Tuesday, trapping hundreds of people in Alpine regions, whipping up high winds that caused flight delays and cancellations and raising the risks of more deadly avalanches in the mountains. At least 12 people have been killed in weather-related accidents in Europe over the last week, most of them from …

AMMAN: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged Middle East allies on Tuesday to confront “significant threats” posed by Iran and jihadists as he visited a region shaken by Washington’s surprise decision to withdraw from Syria. The top US diplomat, in Jordan on the first leg of his longest trip since taking the post last year, said that the US …

ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday condemned comments by a key US envoy over the future of a US-allied Syrian Kurdish militia as a “grave mistake”, as tensions flared over Washington’s planned withdrawal from war-torn Syria. Erdogan’s comments came shortly after US National Security Adviser John Bolton held talks in the Turkish capital with Erdogan’s adviser Ibrahim Kalin, …

BEIRUT: Diehard militants defending their last bastions in eastern Syria used the cover of bad weather to launch a vain but deadly counterattack against Kurdish-led fighters. The so-called Islamic State group was unable to hold on to the positions they attacked but the assault killed 23 members of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and also left nine militants dead. …