AFP, Bonn, Germany
Syria told the UN climate talks in Bonn on Tuesday that it would join the Paris Agreement, leaving the United States as the only nation in the world opting to stay outside the landmark treaty.
“We are going to join the Paris Agreement,” the Syrian delegate, speaking in Arabic, said during a plenary session at the 196-nation talks, according to Safa Al Jayoussi of the IndyAct NGO, who was monitoring the session.
The United States ratified the 2015 pact but US President Donald Trump announced earlier this year that he would pull out, saying the pact did not serve US interests.
EU, US affirm Lebanon support
Reuters, Beirut
The European Union on Wednesday affirmed support for Lebanon following the resignation of Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, echoing U.S. backing for the Beirut government which Saudi Arabia has accused of declaring war.
Statements of support from EU ambassadors to Lebanon and the U.S. State Department on Tuesday struck a sharply different tone to Saudi Arabia, which has lumped Lebanon together with the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah as parties hostile to it.
Judge rejects Sharif ‘s plea to merge 3 trials
AP, Islamabad
A Pakistani judge has rejected a plea from the country’s ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to have three corruption cases against him and his family members merged into one.
This leaves Sharif having to stand three separate trials with hearings stretching out for months.
The decision by Judge Mohammad Bashir is likely to drag out the trial of Sharif, as well as his daughter and her husband, both co-defendants in the cases stemming from documents leaked from a Panama law firm.
NATO to send more troops to Afghanistan
Reuters, Brussels
NATO is set to agree on Thursday to increase its Afghanistan training mission by some 3,000 troops, alliance officials said, after the United States switched tack in long-running efforts to defeat Taliban militants and end the conflict.
Fresh NATO personnel will not have a combat role but the alliance hopes more soldiers can train the Afghan army and air force to complement U.S. President Donald Trump’s strategy to send more American counter-terrorism troops to the country.
French arrest 9 in joint anti-terrorism swoop
Reuters, Paris
French police arrested nine people and another was arrested in Switzerland in coordinated counter-terrorism swoops that follow a spate of deadly attacks in Europe in recent years.
Swiss officials said a 23-year-old Colombian woman was taken into custody after police raids there. A Swiss man aged 27 was among those arrested in parallel French police swoops linked to Islamist militant activity, they added.
French police conducted simultaneous raids on premises on the eastern edge of Paris and in the southeastern region that borders Italy and Switzerland, taking nine people into custody, a source in the French judiciary said.
