French govt moots further concessions to pacify protestersThe French government signalled Wednesday that it was prepared to make further concessionsto "yellow vest" protesters, even raising a possible rollback on a controversial move to cut taxes for high ea...
Dozens arrested in European operation against organised crimeDozens of people were arrested in Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and South America on Wednesday in an operation against members of Italy's 'Ndrangheta organised crime group, officials said....
US renews ‘permanent diplomatic presence’ in SomaliaThe United States has renewed a "permanent diplomatic presence" in Somalia, the State Department said, nearly 30 years after the US embassy was closed as a civil war raged in the Horn of Africa countr...
May accused of misleading MPs over Brexit dealBritish Prime Minister Theresa May was accused on Wednesday of misleading MPs over her Brexit deal as her government published legal advice likely to increase opposition to the agreement ahead of a cr...
Nepal attempts record with a Dead Sea of plastic bagsYoung Nepalis created a map of the Dead Sea with used plastic bags Wednesday in a bid to set a new international record and raise awareness about the vast volumes polluting the world's oceans. Volunte...
British middleman held in India over chopper dealThe alleged British middleman in a dicey helicopter deal between India and an Anglo-Italian firm was remanded in custody on Wednesday after being extradited by the UAE, authorities said. Christian Mic...
13 charged over sacking of Arc de Triomphe during Paris protestsThirteen people were charged on Wednesday over looting and destruction at the Arc de Triomphe monument to France's war dead during violent "yellow vest" protests which rocked Paris last weekend, prose...
Bulgaria says will not join UN migration pactBulgaria's government confirmed on Wednesday that it would not join the United Nations pact for better regulating worldwide migration, set to be adopted later this month. "The government decided that...
Powerful 7.5 quake off New Caledonia triggers tsunami but no damageA powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck near New Caledonia Wednesday, triggering a tsunami alert and emergency evacuations across a swathe of the South Pacific, but there were no reports of serious...
US charges four in ‘Panama Papers’ tax evasion schemeUS prosecutors announced Tuesday that they have charged four people with taking part in a decades-long scheme to evade US taxes that came to light after a massive leak of offshore financial data known...
Trump shaping new ‘liberal’ order to block Russia, China, Iran, says PompeoUS President Donald Trump's top diplomat promised on Tuesday a new democratic world order in which Washington will strengthen or jettison international agreements as it sees fit to stop "bad actors" s...
Siberian region fights to preserve permafrost as planet warmsEduard Romanov points to a spot on a block of flats where a major supporting beam has sagged and begun to crack, destabilising the nine storeys of apartments above. In Russia's Siberian city of Yakuts...
Indonesia hunts suspects in alleged Papua mass killingIndonesian soldiers hunted Wednesday for rebels suspected of killing as many as 24 construction workers in restive Papua province, as an eyewitness account supplied by the military described a grisly...
On an oil ship off Angola, life is work and privacy is a luxuryMoored in the endless South Atlantic Ocean far off the coast of Angola, the "Kaombo Norte" oil-extraction vessel is a deeply impressive sight -- 330 metres (1083 feet) long, with a tower 110 metres hi...
Yemen government team heads to Sweden for peace talksA delegation from Yemen's Saudi-backed government left for Sweden on Wednesday to attend peace talks with members of the Iran-aligned Houthi group, in a renewed UN push to end a war that has brought e...
Slain French monks among 19 to be beatified in AlgeriaThe Catholic Church will on Saturday beatify in Algeria seven French monks and 12 other clergy killed during the country's civil war, the first ceremony of its kind in a Muslim nation. The Trappist mo...
Turkey prosecutor seeks arrest of two Saudi crown prince allies over Khashoggi murderA Turkish prosecutor has demanded that arrest warrants be issued against two Saudi nationals close to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a Turkish source c...
Singapore PM files defamation suit against blogger who shared article on FacebookSingapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has filed a defamation suit against a financial adviser and blogger who shared an article on his Facebook page, Lee's spokeswoman said on Wednesday. The defend...
UN rights boss Bachelet seeks international inquiry into Khashoggi murderUnited Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said on Wednesday that an international investigation was needed to determine who was responsible for the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi...
More than 700,000 Afghans leave Iran as economy slowsMore than 700,000 undocumented Afghans have returned from Iran this year as the Iranian economy tightens, with a knock-on effect on the Afghan economy, according to data from the UN's migration agency...