World

DAMASCUS – Syria’s declared equipment for producing, mixing and filling chemical weapons has been destroyed, the international watchdog says. This comes a day before the deadline set by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Inspectors were sent to Syria following allegations that government forces had used chemical weapons in civilian areas, killing…

WASHINGTON – The US Senate’s intelligence committee has announced a major review of the country’s surveillance operations. The committee’s chair, Diane Feinstein, said eavesdropping on leaders of friendly nations was wrong. She said the White House had told her such surveillance would stop, but a senior administration official told the BBC there was no policy…

HARARE – New claims emerged last night over the extent that US intelligence agencies have been monitoring the mobile phone of Angela Merkel. The allegations were made after German secret service officials were already preparing to travel to Washington to seek explanations into the alleged surveillance of its chancellor. A report in Der Spiegel said…

BERLIN – EU leaders meeting in Brussels say distrust of the US over spying could harm the fight against terrorism. A statement agreed by the leaders says that “a lack of trust could prejudice” intelligence-gathering co-operation. France and Germany are pushing for talks with the US to find an “understanding” by the year’s end. A…

PARIS – French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has summoned the US ambassador over newspaper claims that the US spied on millions of phone calls in France. France has labelled such activity between allies as “unacceptable”. Le Monde says the data, based on leaks from ex-intelligence analyst Edward Snowden, suggest the US NSA agency monitored businesses…

RIYADH – The announcement came hours after Saudi Arabia was elected for the first time to one of the 10 rotating seats on the Security Council. The non-permanent members sit on the council for two years, along with the five permanent members – the US, the UK, France, China and Russia. “Work mechanisms and double-standards…

WASHINGTON – There has been international relief at a US deal to reopen the government and raise the debt limit, averting the risk of potential default. China welcomed the deal, and the head of the International Monetary Fund called it “important and necessary”. Markets in Asia rose on Thursday, though in Europe they dipped slightly…

LONDON – Ex-Liberian President Charles Taylor has arrived in the UK to serve the remainder of his 50-year prison sentence for war crimes. He had asked the UN-backed special court in The Hague to serve his jail term in Rwanda instead. Taylor was handed over to UK prison service representatives after his plane landed at…

WASHINGTON – US Senate leaders have expressed optimism after a flurry of negotiations on raising the federal debt ceiling to avert a potentially disastrous default. They were also nearing a deal to end a partial government shutdown, now in its third week, congressional sources said. A budget bill would also need to pass the House…

WASHINGTON – In a dramatic shift toward a major Arab ally, the Obama administration announced a suspension of significant military aid to Egypt on Wednesday over the bloody crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood. The move, involving hundreds of millions in U.S. assistance to the Egyptian military, is the culmination of months of debate within the…