INTERNATIONAL

China’s economy grew by 6.9% in 2015, compared with 7.3% a year earlier, marking its slowest growth in a quarter of a century. Beijing had set an official growth target of “about 7%” for the world’s second-largest economy. Premier Li Keqiang has said a slower growth rate would be acceptable as long as enough new jobs were created. China’s growth, ...

The city of Deir Ezzor in northern Syria has seen more than its share of conflict and suffering since the Syrian insurgency began. But the last few days have seen unprecedented horror, according to human rights activists, with suicide bombings, mass abductions and arbitrary killings. Most of the city has been controlled by ISIS for well over a year, but ...

Iran has denounced new sanctions imposed by the US over its ballistic missile programme. The sanctions had “no legal or moral legitimacy”, a foreign ministry spokesman said. The new US move came just a day after international sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme were lifted. The head of the world’s nuclear watchdog, visiting Tehran, says Iran has agreed to ...

The richest 1% now has as much wealth as the rest of the world combined, according to Oxfam. It uses data from Credit Suisse from October for the report, which urges leaders meeting in Davos this week to take action on inequality. Oxfam also calculated that the richest 62 people in the world had as much wealth as the poorest ...

A man left brain-dead after an experimental drug trial in France has died, local media report. He was one of six people being treated in hospital in the city of Rennes. The other five remain in a stable condition, the hospital said, four had “neurological problems”, the fifth had no symptoms. Reports that the drug was a cannabis-based painkiller have ...

Iran “has opened a new chapter” in its ties with the world, President Hassan Rouhani said, hours after economic sanctions on Tehran were lifted. On Saturday the international nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, confirmed Iran had complied with a deal designed to prevent it developing nuclear weapons. Mr Rouhani, quoted by Press TV, said the deal did not harm any nation. ...

Burkina Faso’s government says 26 people were killed and a further 56 injured after Islamist militants attacked a hotel in the capital, Ouagadougou, popular with foreigners. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has said it carried out the attack, which began on Friday night. The siege at the Splendid Hotel was declared over after a joint operation by local and ...

Opposition candidate Tsai Ing-wen has been elected Taiwan’s first female president. Ms Tsai’s election is a major victory for Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) which leads the camp that wants independence from China. She had a commanding lead in the vote count when Eric Chu of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) admitted defeat. China sees the island as a breakaway province ...

About 30 hostages have been freed after an attack by militants on a hotel in Burkina Faso’s Ouagadougou that reportedly killed at least 20 people. Several masked men stormed the Splendid Hotel, taking hostages, after car bombs went off outside, eyewitnesses said. Communications Minister Remis Dandjinou tweeted that some 30 hostages had been liberated and that a military operation to ...

A clinical trial of a new drug in France has left one person brain-dead and another five people in hospital, in a serious condition. The oral trial was conducted by a private laboratory in the western city of Rennes. The trial has been suspended and the firm is recalling the volunteers. It is unclear how many people are involved. Media ...