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  The candidates who participated in Thursday night’s debate in Houston, and those scrambling to try to qualify for next month’s debate in Ohio, have less than five months to plead their case to voters before the first nominating contest in Iowa on Feb. 3, 2020. Biden on Friday held …

A U.S. Navy destroyer sailed near islands claimed by China in the South China Sea on Friday, the U.S. military said, a move likely to anger Beijing. The busy waterway is one of a growing number of flashpoints in the U.S.-Chinese relationship, which include an escalating trade war, American sanctions …

At least 10 people died when a fire ripped through a hospital in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday evening, firefighters said. The blaze, apparently caused by a short circuit, was the latest tragedy to hit one of Brazil’s most famous cities. Staff wheeled patients out on beds as smoke spread …

Four people have been killed and over 1,500 evacuated in two days of torrential rains in southeastern Spain, with many roads, train networks and an airport closed on Friday and emergency services rescuing people stuck in flooded highway tunnels. Floods swept away cars and debris in the regions of Valencia, …

The US Department of Justice has said it will reveal a key name sought by people suing Saudi Arabia for alleged involvement in the 9/11 attacks. It says the information will be shared with lawyers representing the victims’ families. It is unclear if the person’s identity will become public. Fifteen …

The French capital is seeing huge jams and massive crowds on the few metro lines running as transport workers strike against planned pension reform. Ten of Paris’s 16 lines were shut and service on the others was disrupted. Many workers cycled, walked or stayed at home, while free rides were …

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry has condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial pledge to annex the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank if re-elected in the September 17 snap polls, describing it as aggressive electoral propaganda. “Iraq categorically rejects the statement made by Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of the …

Facebook has sanctioned Benjamin Netanyahu’s official page after a post called on voters to oppose a government composed of “Arabs who want to destroy us all – women, children and men.” The social media company said the post violated its hate speech policy. Facebook consequently disabled the page’s automatic chat …

The US government has concluded within the past two years that Israel has been placing surveillance devices near the White House and other sensitive locations around Washington, DC, according to a US media outlet. In contrast to other instances of foreign spying, however, President Donald Trump’s administration has not rebuked …

The daughter of the King of Saudi Arabia was complicit in beating up and briefly kidnapping a workman in her luxury flat Paris, a French court ruled on Thursday, sentencing the princess to a 10-month suspended prison sentence. Speaking after the verdict, Princess Hassa bint Salman’s French lawyer said most …

Up to 50 people were killed when a cargo train derailed in Congo’s southeastern province of Tanganyika in the early hours of Thursday, government officials said, though reports on casualties differed widely. The Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Steve Mbikayi, said the derailment happened around 3 a.m. local time (0100 GMT), …

Multiple explosions have rocked an arsenal on the northern coast of Cyprus, injuring several people, while a huge blaze has been ravaging the facility. A fire broke out at the depot in the city of Kyrenia, de facto controlled by the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, on Thursday morning. …

The US Supreme Court on Wednesday granted a request by President Donald Trump’s administration to fully enforce a new rule that would curtail asylum applications by immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, a key element of his hardline immigration policies. The court said the rule, which requires most immigrants who want …

The Iraqi Economic Council member, Ghadir al-Attar announced on Thursday that the visit of French President, Emmanuel Macron to the country will witness signing a contract for the construction of Baghdad suspension train. Al-Attar said in a statement today that “French President, Emmanuel Macron will visit the capital Baghdad during …

US President Donald Trump has announced that his administration will ban flavoured e-cigarettes, after a spate of vaping-related deaths. Mr Trump told reporters vaping was a “new problem”, especially for children. US Health Secretary Alex Azar said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would finalise a plan to take all …

Boris Johnson has denied lying to the Queen over the advice he gave her over the five-week suspension of Parliament. The prime minister was speaking after Scotland’s highest civil court ruled on Wednesday the shutdown was unlawful. Asked whether he had lied to the monarch about his reasons for the …

Arab nations have condemned a plan by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to annex a third of the occupied West Bank. On Tuesday Netanyahu pledged to apply Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea if he is returned to office following a general election next week. Officials …

Police in Florida’s capital city says a suspect is in custody after multiple stabbings in an industrial area. The Tallahassee Police Department says in an online news release that they were called to an industrial area in the city for a stabbing Wednesday morning. When they arrived, they found multiple …

At least 640 Nigerians have signed up to take free flights home from South Africa after xenophobic attacks on foreigners, a spokeswoman for Nigeria’s president said on Tuesday. The flare-up in violence directed against mainly African foreigners has been widely condemned by South Africa’s neighbors and has caused a diplomatic …

Thousands of Indonesians prayed for rain in haze-hit towns on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo on Wednesday, as forest fires raged at the height of the dry season, the state Antara news agency reported. Fires have burnt through parts of Sumatra and Borneo island for more than a month …