Beyond the setbacks, Macron’s reform push begins to pay offWhile France has experienced political turbulence and disappointing economic data in recent months, beneath the surface are signs of deeper change that suggest President Emmanuel Macron's reform drive...
Tanzanian police say driver identified in billionaire kidnappingTanzanian police said Friday they had identified the driver of a vehicle used in the kidnapping of Tanzanian billionaire Mohammed Dewji, who was snatched over a week ago. Dewji, 43, who is considered...
Russia and Uzbekistan launch work on nuclear power plantRussia and Uzbekistan began preliminary work on Friday on the first Uzbek nuclear power plant, a project Moscow estimates will cost $11 billion. The plant, to be largely financed by a soft loan from R...
US student’s lawyer says ‘battle goes on’ over Israel anti-boycott lawA US student's court victory against the Israeli government's attempt to bar her from the country may prove only a short reprieve in the "battle" over a law targeting some pro-Palestinian activists, o...
UN Security Council to meet on Rohingya atrocities reportThe UN Security Council is scheduled to hear a briefing next week from the head of a UN fact-finding mission that has accused Myanmar’s military of atrocities against Muslim Rohingya, diplomats said T...
Pope Francis gets invite to North Korea, may consider landmark tripVATICAN CITY: Pope Francis on Thursday received an invitation to visit North Korea and the pontiff indicated he would consider making what would be a landmark trip to a nation known for severe restric...
British-Pakistani cleric Anjum Chaudhry released from prisonCleric Anjum Chaudhry, long a thorn in the side of British authorities, was released from prison on Friday having served half his sentence for encouraging support for the militant Islamic State group,...
New moon: China to launch lunar lighting in outer spaceChina is planning to launch its own 'artificial moon' by 2020 to replace streetlamps and lower electricity costs in urban areas, state media reported Friday. Chengdu, a city in southwestern Sichuan pr...
‘Not worthy of rape’ deputy says she fears for Brazil under a president BolsonaroA female lawmaker who was once told by Brazil's presidential frontrunner Jair Bolsonaro that she was "not worthy" of being raped said on Thursday that she fears for her country if the far-right candid...
Pioneering school in Cairo struggles to fund pupilsAmong the poorest of Egypt's poor, the so-called "zabbaleen" who scavenge through garbage to eke out a living in a Cairo slum struggle to keep their children in school. Residents of the Ezbet al-Nakhl...
US veterans, including many women, seek to serve anew in CongressAmerica's military veterans are taking the leap from battlefield to ballot in large numbers in 2018, aiming to bring their discipline, can-do problem-solving, and country-before-party sense of duty to...
Ageing Japan: Unclaimed burial urns pile up in Japan amid fraying social tiesUnclaimed urns containing ashes of the dead are piling up by the thousands across Japan, creating storage headaches and reflecting fraying family ties and economic pressures in a rapidly ageing nation...
Afghanistan in shock after death of powerful police commanderAfghan election commissioners recommended suspending Saturday's parliamentary vote in the southern province of Kandahar after the assassination of one of the country's most powerful security chiefs de...
Crimea mourns victims of school massacreCrimea on Friday was to hold a memorial ceremony for the 20 people killed in a school shooting dubbed the "Russian Columbine", the worst massacre of its kind in the country's history. On Wednesday, 18...
Cameroon court rejects all petitions calling for re-run of electionsCameroon's Constitutional Council on Friday rejected the last of 18 petitions calling for a re-run of an Oct. 7 election that the opposition said was marred by fraud, paving the way for results expect...
Malaysian ex-deputy PM charged with money laundering, graftMalaysia's former deputy prime minister, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, was charged on Friday with 45 criminal offences including money laundering and graft, the state news agency reported, amid a widening crack...
China, SE Asia to hold maritime drill to ease tensionsChina and Southeast Asian states will hold their first joint maritime exercises next week, officials said Friday, in a move aimed at easing tensions but which may spark US alarm. Beijing's expansive c...
WHO says Zika risk low in Pacific ahead of Meghan visitAs Prince Harry and his expectant wife Meghan prepare to tour Fiji and Tonga next week, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the risk of contracting Zika virus in the Pacific nations is lo...
UK says any response over Khashoggi case would be ‘considered’British foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said on Friday that allegations regarding the case of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi would be totally unacceptable if true but any response by Britain would be "...
French MP proposes ‘glottophobia’ law after southern accent mockedA French MP on Thursday announced the tabling of a bill to outlaw regional linguistic discrimination, "glottophobia", after a prominent politician mocked a journalist's southern accent. "Do we speak F...
Several hurt in chopper crash on US carrier in PacificA US Navy helicopter crashed on board a US aircraft carrier patrolling the Pacific on Friday, causing several injuries, the military said in a statement. "All injured personnel are in stable condition...