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The Taliban says it has held a video conference call with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during which the militant group reaffirmed its commitment to the peace process in Afghanistan. Spokesman Suhail Shaheen said in a tweet on June 30 that the Taliban and the top U.S. diplomat held …

Belgium’s King Philippe expressed deep regret on Tuesday for the “suffering and humiliation” inflicted on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) during its 75-year period under Belgian rule. It is the first such expression of regret for Belgium’s colonial past by a reigning monarch, the royal palace said. It …

A roadside bomb hit two Revolutionary Guard vehicles in southeast Iran but no one was killed, the official IRIB news agency reported, citing a parliamentarian from the region. A local commander from the Revolutionary Guards was wounded in the explosion in Sistan and Baluchistan province, Fadahossein Maleki, a parliamentarian from …

Chinese researchers have discovered a new type of swine flu that can infect humans and has the potential to cause a future pandemic, according to a study released on Monday. The disease, which researchers called the G4 virus, is genetically descended from the H1N1 swine flu that caused a global …

The U.N. nuclear agency says slightly elevated levels of radioactivity that have been detected in northern Europe pose no risk to human health or to the environment but it’s still unclear what the cause was. The Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish radiation and nuclear safety watchdogs said last week that they …

Top officials in the White House were aware in early 2019 of classified intelligence indicating Russia was secretly offering bounties to the Taliban for the deaths of Americans, a full year earlier than has been previously reported, according to U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the intelligence. The assessment was …

China has approved a contentious law that would allow authorities to crack down on subversive and secessionist activity in Hong Kong, sparking fears that it would be used to curb opposition voices in the semi-autonomous territory. Tam Yiu-Chung, Hong Kong’s sole representative to the Standing Committee of the National People’s …

The United States is not on a “safe list” of destinations for non-essential travel due to be unveiled by European Union governments later on Tuesday, three diplomats said. The 27-member bloc is expected to give outline approval to leisure or business travel from Wednesday to 14 countries beyond its borders …

The four former Minneapolis police officers charged in the death of George Floyd are in court Monday for a hearing that could deal with bail amounts and other issues. It’s the second pretrial hearing for the men, who were fired after Floyd’s May 25 death. Derek Chauvin, 44, is charged …

The Jordanian government has once again stated its opposition to the Zionist regime’s plan to annex part of the West Bank. The Jordanian government has once again stated its opposition to the Zionist regime’s plan to annex part of the West Bank to the occupied territories, Elnashra reported. According to …

Zionist regime’s PM Netanyahu and regime’s ambassador to the UN Danny Danon have both called for world countries to accompany US President Trump in his maximum pressure campaign and putting more sanctions on Iran. Addressing the virtual summit of Christians United for Israel (CUFI) on Sunday, Netanyahu said “I want …

The Egyptian Minister of Irrigation Mohamed Abdel-Ati said that his country depends on the Nile for 97% of its resources, and its population is based on only 5% of its area and the rest of the areas are desert. According to the Egyptian “Al-Shorouk” website, Abdel-Ati said during the opening …

Donald Trump may drop out of the 2020 presidential race if he believes he has no chance of winning, a Republican Party operative reportedly told Fox News. The claim comes in a report in the president’s favorite news outlet that cites a number of GOP insiders who are concerned about …

At least 30 bodies were recovered after a ferry carrying scores of people sank in the river of Buriganga in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on Monday. Enayet Hossain, senior duty officer of Fire Service and Civil Defence Headquarters, told that Xinhua that “30 bodies including 19 men, eight women and …

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday urged South Africans to stamp out the stigmatization of people who have proven positive with coronavirus. The stigmatization of COVID-19 patients has become one of the challenges confronting the country, Ramaphosa said in his weekly presidential address. “As a society, we have a collective responsibility …

A French court has found former prime minister François Fillon guilty of paying his wife over €1 million in public funds for a “fake job”. Fillon was sentenced to five years in prison – three of which can be served in the community. He will also have to pay a …

Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the liberal justices on the Supreme Court on Monday to block a controversial Louisiana abortion law that critics said would have closed nearly every clinic in the state. The 5-4 ruling is a win for supporters of abortion rights who argued that the law …

A white couple pointed guns at protesters in St. Louis as a group marched toward the mayor’s home to demand her resignation after she read the names and addresses of several residents who supported defunding the police department during an online briefing. A social media video showed the armed couple …

A senior member of Lebanon’s negotiating team with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has quit his post as finance ministry director general, telling al-Jadeed TV he had resigned over the way leaders are handling a financial crisis. Alain Bifani is the second member of Lebanon’s team at the IMF talks …

Fighting erupted in Taiwan’s parliament on Monday as lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) broke through barricades erected by the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) who had occupied it to protest against government “tyranny”. Taiwan is a rambunctious democracy and fights and protests inside the parliament building are not …