AFP, MOSCOW: The last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on Thursday urged the West to stop isolating Russia and take a more “constructive” approach in response to President Vladimir Putin’s moves towards normalising relations. The 85-year-old who presided over the breakup of the Soviet…

AFP, WASHINGTON: The one-time slave turned abolitionist Harriet Tubman was named Wednesday as the new face of the $20 banknote, the first time an African…

AFP, SOFIA: Bulgaria introduced mandatory voting on Thursday, with the government hoping to boost low election turnout and battle rampant vote-buying in one of the European Union’s most corrupt countries. Under the new measures approved by parliament, those failing to cast ballots will be deleted…

AFP, KUWAIT CITY: UN-brokered peace talks on Yemen’s war were due to begin in Kuwait on Thursday after a three-day delay, as a rebel delegation said they were finally heading to the crucial negotiations. The United Nations has been pushing the talks that it hopes will end a conflict that has been…

AFP, BEIJING: Chinese state media unveiled a new title for President Xi Jinping calling him “commander in chief” of the country’s new joint forces battle command centre, as he seeks to consolidate power over the military. State-run Xinhua news agency and state broadcaster CCTV both…

AFP, CAIRO: Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi called Thursday for a special criminal court to be set up for Israel, at a meeting to condemn an announcement that it will never return the Golan. Delegates to the 22-member Arab bloc based in Cairo are expected to pass a resolution denouncing Israeli Prime…