World news

Egypt bombs IS targets in Libya after 21 Egyptians beheaded

(Reuters) - Egyptian jets bombed Islamic State targets in Libya on Monday, a day after the group there released a video showing the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians, drawing Cairo directly into the conflict across its border. Egypt said the pre-dawn strike hit militant camps, training sites an

Italian coastguard in rescue operation of over 1,000 migrants

ROME: The Italian coastguard launched a major rescue operation today for more than 1,000 migrants in difficulty between the Italian island of Lampedusa and the Libyan coast. Around 150 migrants aboard two vessels from Libya have already been helped to safety, emergency officials told AGI news age

Obama talks ceasefire with leaders of Ukraine, Germany

RANCHO MIRAGE, California: President Barack Obama has spoken with the leaders of Ukraine and Germany as fighting continued between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine hours before a scheduled ceasefire. The White House says Obama and Ukrainian President Petro Porosh

Saudi, Italy and Germany suspend embassy work in Yemen

Saudi Arabia, Germany and Italy have suspended operations and evacuated diplomatic staff at their embassies in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Friday. “As result of deterioration in security and political conditions in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, the kingdom has suspended all embassy operations in Sana

Taleban hit Shiite mosque in Pakistan, killing 19

PESHAWAR, Pakistan: Militants stormed a Shiite mosque in northwestern Pakistan on Friday, killing 19 people in a wave of shooting and explosions before the siege ended, officials said. The attack in the city of Peshawar also wounded more than 40 people, according to Provincial Information Minister

India’s permanent UNSC seat unacceptable: Sharif tells Obama

India’s permanent membership in the reformed UN Security Council (UNSC) is unacceptable to Pakistan as it has not complied with UN resolutions on Kashmir, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has told U.S. President Barack Obama. Mr. Obama called Mr. Sharif on Thursday night and both leaders discussed iss

Three Muslim students killed at North Carolina campus

Three American students have been shot to death at a residential complex of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a suspect has been arrested over the incident, according to local police. Chapel Hill police told local news outlets that Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, was arrested and charg

France, Britain suspend embassy work in Yemen

Britain and France have pulled embassy staff out of Yemen and suspended work at their embassies due to fears over the security situation, officials said Wednesday. French nationals were asked Wednesday to leave Yemen as “soon as possible.” “Given the recent political developments and for reaso

Malaysia's Anwar jailed for five years after losing appeal in sodomy trial

(Reuters) - Malaysia's highest court rejected on Tuesday an appeal by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim against a sodomy conviction, sending the politician who poses the greatest threat to the long-ruling coalition back to prison for five years. The U.N. Human Rights office, the United States and A

Obama faces tough sell to get new US war powers to fight IS

WASHINGTON: The White House is struggling to reconcile demands from Democrats against using US ground forces to fight Islamic State militants with those Republicans who want to leave that option open, congressional officials said Monday as lawmakers awaited an administration proposal for new war pow

Egypt suspends football league after Cairo stadium deaths

The Egyptian authorities have suspended football league matches indefinitely after at least 22 fans were killed in clashes with police at a Cairo stadium. People were crushed in a stampede after police fired tear gas at supporters of Zamalek who were trying to gain entry to a match against city riv

30,000 Afghans left Pakistan in aftermath of school attack

KABUL: More than 30,000 Afghans living in Pakistan have returned home since the start of the year after coming under intense scrutiny following a Taleban massacre at a Peshawar school in December, the IOM said Sunday. There are an estimated three million Afghan refugees living in Pakistan either of

Fire volcano in Guatemala erupts

A national disaster preparedness official in Guatemala says the Fire Volcano has exploded, spewing incandescent rock and ash that dusted surrounding communities. Spokesman David de Leon says authorities put the southern Guatemala area on alert, though no evacuations have been made so far. Kari

109 Boko Haram fighters killed in Niger

Niger's forces killed 109 fighters from the Islamist militant group Boko Haram on Friday as they repulsed attacks on Bosso and Diffa, two southeastern towns near the Nigerian border, Niger state television said. Four Niger soldiers were killed, 13 were wounded and two are missing after the fighti

Syria strikes kill 66 after rebel fire on Damascus: Monitor

Beirut: At least 66 people were killed on Thursday as Syria's regime pounded a rebel stronghold with air strikes after a barrage of opposition fire hit the capital Damascus, a monitor said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 12 children were among those killed in the opposition-held Eas

U.N. picks new Gaza war inquiry chief

The president of the U.N. Human Rights Council appointed on Tuesday U.S. judge Mary McGowan Davis as the new head of the U.N. inquiry into the Gaza war. The appointment came after Professor William Schabas quit on Monday, following Israeli allegations of bias. Israel allegedly provided informatio

US to destroy its largest remaining chemical weapons cache

PUEBLO, Colorado: The United States is about to begin destroying its largest remaining stockpile of chemical-laden artillery shells, marking a milestone in the global campaign to eradicate a debilitating weapon that still creeps into modern wars. The Pueblo Chemical Depot in southern Colorado plans

Plane with 58 passengers crashes in Taipei; 8 dead

A Taiwanese commercial flight with 58 passengers aboard clipped a bridge shortly after takeoff and crashed into a river in the island’s capital of Taipei on Wednesday morning. Taiwan state media reports 8 dead in crash of passenger flight into Taipei river after takeoff. Taiwan’s Central News