There are 17998 articles

  • Taliban fighters attack Kabul hotel

    An overnight assault by Taliban gunmen on a major hotel in Kabul has ended with the killing of the attackers by security forces and the deaths of up to 10 other people, according to officials. "We believe between six and seven attackers have been killed," Sediq Sediqqi, an Afghan interior ministry spokesman, said on Wednesday. Mohammad Zahir,.. More

  • Israel backs away from flotilla media threat

    Israel has backtracked on its warning to foreign journalists covering the Gaza-bound international aid flotilla, saying they will not face the same punishment as other participants in the convoy. Israel's government press office had given warning on Sunday that journalists sailing on the flotilla could be barred from the country for up to a decade.. More

  • At least 29 slain in US drone strikes against South Waziristan

    At least 29 people were slain and an unknown number of others wounded yesterday in a pair of US drone strikes against South Waziristan Agency, Pakistan. The first strike targeted a vehicle, killing eight people in Shawwal. The second strike hit a home full of tribesmen in Mandoi, killing the 21 people inside and wounding a number of people surrounding.. More

  • Syrian opposition figures meet in Damascus

    Some of Syria's leading intellectuals have called for sweeping political change that could end 41 years of Assad family rule, at a rare conference allowed by the authorities under pressure from a three-month uprising. Participants said Monday's meeting, held at a hotel in the centre of Damascus, was unprecedented in five decades of the Baath Party's.. More

  • Bashir visits China ahead of S. Sudan split

    Omar al-Bashir, the Sudanese president, has said his country's relations with China will not be weakened by Beijing's ties with South Sudan. In remarks made on Monday ahead of his four-day visit to China, Bashir said he was not troubled by Beijing's dual loyalties. "Our policy, and also China's, stands on the principle that each country is free.. More

  • Four Khmer Rouge leaders go on trial

    The United Nations-backed trial of the four most senior surviving members of Cambodia's murderous Khmer Rouge regime began on Monday, three decades after its "year zero" revolution marked one of the darkest chapters of the 20th century. The defendants, infirm and ranging in age between 79 and 85, were among the inner circle of the late Pol.. More

  • Israel reroutes West Bank barrier at Bilin

    Israel's army has begun tearing down a section of the West Bank separation barrier near the village of Bilin, four years after the Israeli Supreme Court ordered them to do so. The rerouting on Sunday marked a major victory for residents of the town and activists who have held weekly demonstrations at the site for years. Not all activists were satisfied.. More

  • Death toll rises in Afghan hospital blast

    Afghan officials have raised the death toll to 38 people following a bomb attack at a hospital in Afghanistan. The United Nations said the hospital's maternity ward was badly damaged in Saturday's blast, and many of the victims were women and children. Dozens of people were also wounded, officials said. Estimates of the casualties, which included.. More

  • Hundreds of Syrians flee to Lebanon

    Up to 1,000 Syrians have fled across the border into Lebanon over the past two days in a bid to escape the escalating violence in Syria. A Lebanese security official said on Saturday that those crossing had entered northern Lebanon near the border town of Wadi Khaled, a day after activists said 20 people were killed in anti-government protests in Syria. He.. More

  • Severe drought hits eastern Africa

    At least 10 people have been killed after clashes broke out in northern Kenya over control of grazing land and water sources, as the worst drought in 15 years hits eastern Africa. Police and local leaders said that the fighting occurred on Saturday on the border between Isiolo and Samburu districts, which has seen similar clashes in the past few years. Marc.. More

  • Syrians flee as troops mass on Turkish border

    Hundreds of displaced Syrians have fled into Turkey after Syrian troops, backed by tanks, approached their makeshift camps along the border. Witnesses said on Thursday that Syrian troops had massed on the Turkish border overnight, escalating tensions with Ankara as President Bashar al-Assad uses increasing military force to try to crush a popular revolt. Re.. More

  • Minor withdrawal in Afghanistan, war continues

    US president Barack Obama announced Wednesday night from the White House his plan to withdraw 10,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year and all of the 33,000 'surge' forces by the end of next summer. By that time almost 70,000 troops will remain in the war torn country, twice the amount as when Obama assumed office. By 2014, he said,.. More

  • Gaddafi forces fire rockets at Misurata

    Government propelled rockets have landed in the opposition-held Misurata for the first time in several weeks, signaling that the coastal city remains within range of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's artillery fire. Although no one was injured in the attack, it dampened the relative sense of security among Misurata's residents, who had believed the.. More

  • India and Pakistan aim to nudge peace process forward

    India and Pakistan begin peace talks on Thursday, an important safety valve between two nuclear-armed countries. But after many false starts, hopes were being kept deliberately low for the two days of talks between Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistani counterpart, Salman Bashir. "We have realistic expectations," an Indian.. More

  • Deadly clashes reported as Syrians rally

    Syrian security forces have shot dead seven people after government supporters and opponents clashed in three cities, activists say. The reported deaths on Tuesday came as tens of thousands of Syrians demonstrated in support of President Bashar al-Assad in major cities, a day after he pledged further reforms in an address to the nation. The Local.. More