Peace talks postponed as Taliban objects to size of Afghan delegation
Reuters, Kabul
A meeting between the Taliban and Afghan politicians and civil society aimed at ending more than 17 years of war in Afghanistan has been postponed, officials and diplomats said on Thursday, citing Taliban objections to the size of the Afghan delegation. The talks were set to begin on Friday in Doha, but a senior government official in Kabul said “the gathering has been called off for now and details were being reworked.”
Netanyahu formally named next Israeli PM
AFP, Jerusalem
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Wednesday formally handed Benjamin Netanyahu his letter of appointment to start building a coalition government following last week’s general election. In a televised ceremony, Rivlin told Netanyahu, that in his consultations with all parties elected to the incoming 120-seat parliament, “65 MPs recommended you.” Rivlin had sounded out delegations from political parties on Monday and Tuesday.
Strong quake hits Taiwan, injuring 17
AFP, Taipei
A 6.1-magnitude earthquake jolted Taiwan on Thursday, the US Geological Survey said, disrupting traffic and injuring 17 people. In the capital Taipei, highrises swayed while some panicked schoolchildren fled their classrooms in eastern Yilan county, according to reports.
The quake was felt across the island and a highway connecting Yilan and Hualien was shut down, authorities said.
Trump’s adviser visits Moscow for talks
AP, Moscow
The Kremlin spokesman says a U.S. presidential adviser has traveled to Russia for talks. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov says Thursday that Fiona Hill, Special Assistant to U.S. President Donald Trump, held talks in Moscow on Wednesday with several Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin’s foreign affairs adviser.
A U.S. embassy official who asked to be unnamed because the statements about Hill’s visits should be made by the National Security Council confirmed the visit to the Associated Press.
29 German tourists killed in Madeira bus crash
AFP, Canico
Twenty-nine German tourists were killed when their bus spun off the road and tumbled down a slope before crashing into a house on the Portuguese island of Madeira. Drone footage of the aftermath of the accident showed the badly mangled wreckage of the bus resting precariously on its side against a building on a hillside, the vehicle’s roof partially crushed and front window smashed.
Rescue workers attended to injured passengers among the undergrowth where the bus came to rest, some of them bearing bloodied head bandages and bloodstained clothes, others appearing to be more seriously hurt.
