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Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani said he was in urgent talks with local leaders and international partners as the Taliban pushed closer to Kabul, capturing a key town south of the capital that is one of the gateways to the city. “As your President, my focus is on preventing further instability, …

Zambian opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema took an early lead in the country’s presidential election over long-time rival and incumbent Edgar Lungu, according to first results issued by the electoral commission on Saturday. Lungu, 64 and in power since 2015, faces a potentially tight contest against Hichilema – known as “HH” …

Lebanese central bank governor Riad Salameh maintained his innocence amid allegations of corruption, saying in a radio interview on Saturday that his conscience was clear. Salameh is under investigation in Switzerland on charges related to embezzlement, and probes are underway or being planned in several other European countries. Last week, …

Families of those missing after Turkey’s worst floods in years anxiously watched rescue teams search buildings on Saturday, fearing the death toll from the raging torrents could rise further. At least 44 people have died from the floods in the northern Black Sea region, the second natural disaster to strike …

Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest fell 10% in July from a year earlier, after four straight monthly increases, preliminary data showed on Friday, but destruction remains far higher than before President Jair Bolsonaro took office. Cleared forest in the month of July totaled 1,498 square km (578 square miles), nearly …

Indonesia’s capital reopened its retail malls this week to an exclusive crowd – shoppers vaccinated against coronavirus. With restrictions still in place in much of Indonesia, Jakarta’s malls are allowed to operate at 25% capacity to try to keep the economy moving, but customers must prove via a smartphone application …

Armed group ISIL claims responsibility for the attack in a statement on an ISIL-affiliated website. A roadside bomb exploded in the restive northern part of the Sinai Peninsula, killing eight members of Egypt’s security forces, including an officer, while six others were wounded. The troops were riding an armoured vehicle …

Rebels hold a defiant commemoration in the Spanish capital to say they are ‘still here resisting’. In the summer of 1521, Spanish conquistadors led by Hernan Cortes looted and destroyed the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. Today, 500 years later, Mexico’s indigenous Zapatistas are holding their own “invasion” of the Spanish …

Disturbances break out after 56-year-old Afghan dies of a heart attack while waiting in the dusty heat to enter Afghanistan. Pakistani forces have clashed with hundreds of Afghans stranded on Pakistan’s side of a commercially vital border crossing with Afghanistan after its closure by the Taliban, Pakistani security officials say. …

UN experts have called for an international moratorium on the sale of surveillance technology until regulations are enforced to protect human rights following a scandal surrounding the Israeli-made Pegasus spyware, which reportedly targeted political figures worldwide, including French President Emmanuel Macron. “It is highly dangerous and irresponsible to allow the …

China has rejected the World Health Organization (WHO)’s calls for a new probe into the origins of the coronavirus, saying it supports “scientific” over “political” efforts to find out how the virus started. The rejection came on Friday after the WHO urged Beijing to share raw data from the earliest …

Turkey’s chief prosecutor on Friday announced the arrest of 72 more people implicated in attacks on the shops of Syrian migrants in the capital Ankara. The new detentions bring the total number of people detained since Wednesday night’s violence to 148. The unrest broke out in response to a fight …

France has suspended a deal on military cooperation with Ethiopia, two sources close to the issue said on Friday, as concern intensifies over the conflict in the country’s north. The deal agreed between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and President Emmanuel Macron in March 2019 was suspended at the beginning of …

A second person has died in southwestern Russia following an explosion on a city bus that also injured another 17 people, officials said on Friday. Authorities said Thursday’s blast on the bus in the city of Voronezh was caused by leaky gas equipment. No trace of chemical explosives was found, …

A Malaysian serviceman shot dead three fellow air force personnel at a military base before killing himself on Friday, police said, a rare case of gun violence in the Southeast Asian nation. The serviceman, who was supposed to be undergoing a coronavirus quarantine, snatched the firearms from a guard post, …

China’s newly appointed ambassador in Washington stressed the utmost importance of Taiwan in the Sino-U.S. relationship during his first meeting with a top U.S. official since assuming the job, according to Chinese state media. Qin Gang, 55, who has earned a reputation for pointed public defences of his country’s positions, …

Thai police clashed with demonstrators on Friday after hundreds defied a ban on gatherings to rally in central Bangkok, where they attempted to march on the prime minister’s residence to demand his resignation over the country’s coronavirus crisis. Police fired tear gas canisters and rubber bullets from an elevated highway …

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Friday appointed a new minister in charge of recovery from natural disasters in a bid to defuse growing anger over the struggle to curb wildfires that have charred thousands of hectares of forest. Mitsotakis has this week apologised for delays in the firefighting effort …

Emergency workers battled to relieve flood-hit areas of Turkey’s Black Sea region on Friday, as the death toll rose to 27 in the second natural disaster to strike the country this month. The floods, among the worst Turkey, has experienced, brought chaos to northern provinces just as authorities were declaring …

British police on Friday named Jake Davison as the man who went on a shooting rampage that killed five people including a very young girl in the city of Plymouth before taking his own life, possibly with a pump-action shotgun. Police were called at 6:10 pm on Thursday in Plymouth …