US police have shot and killed 385 people during the first five months of this year, a rate of more than two a day, the Washington Post reported on Saturday.The death rate is more than twice that tallied by the…
Category: World News
European Union anger at Russian travel blacklist
The European Union has responded angrily to Russia’s entry ban against 89 European politicians, officials and military leaders. Those banned are believed to include general secretary of the EU council Uwe Corsepius, and former British deputy prime minister Nick Clegg.…
US and Iran address obstacles to nuclear deal as deadline nears
US Secretary of State John Kerry met his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif on Saturday in a bid to overcome the remaining obstacles to a final nuclear agreement, a month ahead of a deadline for a deal between Tehran and…
US calls for land reclamation ‘halt’ in South China Sea
The US has called for an “immediate and lasting halt” to land reclamation in disputed areas of the South China Sea. US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter told the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore that China’s actions in the area were “out…
Myanmar tells migrant confeence – Finger pointing will not help
A regional conference called to address the swelling tide of boat people in Southeast Asia ended Friday with no major breakthroughs, as Myanmar criticised those blaming it for fueling the crisis and warned that “finger pointing” would not help. But…
UN wants all countries involved to solve Asian migrants trafficking
The United Nations (UN) has said all the countries that are ‘implicated’ need to sit around the table and come up with a solution regarding human trafficking. “I think all the countries that are implicated, whether they’re origin countries, transit…
Russia masses heavy firepower on border with Ukraine: witness
Russia’s army is massing troops and hundreds of pieces of weaponry including mobile rocket launchers, tanks and artillery at a makeshift base near the border with Ukraine, a Reuters reporter saw this week.Many of the vehicles have number plates and…
Over 2,500 migrants still adrift, UN says ahead of SE Asia meeting
More than 2,500 migrants could still be stranded on boats in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea, according to estimates by the United Nations, as Thailand prepares to host a regional meeting it said was focused on “immediate action”…
Governor says deadly flooding is worst ever seen in Texas area
Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Monday likened the ferocity of flash flooding that killed at least three people to a tsunami, and authorities said a dam had given way in a state park.Abbott declared states of disaster in 24 counties…
Russia begins massive air force exercise
Russia’s military forces have begun a large exercise involving around 250 aircraft and 12,000 service personnel, according to its defence ministry. The ministry described the four-day drill as a “massive surprise inspection”, to check combat readiness. The tests began on…
Islamic State faces battle in Iraq, bombs in Syria
Islamic State poured more fighters into Ramadi on Monday as security forces and Shia paramilitaries renewed efforts to retake the western Iraqi city that fell to the Islamists a week ago in a major setback for the government.In Palmyra, the…
Mass graves of suspected trafficking victims found in Malaysia: media
Mass graves and suspected human trafficking detention camps have been discovered by Malaysian police in towns and villages bordering Thailand, the country’s home minister said on Sunday.Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said officials are determining whether the graves were of…
Shia militia deploy from base near Iraq’s Ramadi
A convoy of Shia militia fighters and Iraqi army forces set out from a base near the western provincial capital of Ramadi on Saturday, heading towards areas controlled by Islamic State militants, an eyewitness and a local official said.
Islamic State claims Saudi Shia mosque bombing responsibility
The Islamic State (IS) group says it was behind a suicide bombing on a Shia mosque in Saudi Arabia that killed at least 21 people. The attack in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province is the first to be claimed by the…
Suicide bomber strikes Saudi Shia mosque, many dead or wounded: residents
A suicide bomber blew himself up at a Shia mosque in eastern Saudi Arabia during Friday prayers, residents said, and up to 30 people were reported to have been killed or wounded.No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, the…
Malaysia orders rescue of migrant boats, Thailand says no to shelters
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Thursday he had ordered the navy to conduct search and rescue missions for thousands of migrants adrift at sea as Thailand’s prime minister said his country would not provide shelter.Southeast Asia is battling…
Iraqi forces say they defeat Islamist attack near Ramadi
Iraqi forces said they fought off an overnight attack by Islamic State militants near the city of Ramadi, which the insurgents overran at the weekend in the most significant setback for the government in a year.Islamic State is seeking to…
US fears Shia militias could worsen Iraqi sectarian fires
The use of Shia militias to try to take back the Iraqi city of Ramadi from Islamic State risks unleashing more sectarian bloodletting, current and former US officials said, but Washington and Baghdad appear to have few other options.
6 Baltimore officers involved in Freddie Gray’s death indicted
By Kayla Ruble A grand jury has decided to indict the six Baltimore police officers involved in the death of Freddie Gray, who died after sustaining a severed spine while in police custody in April. Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby…
Sold for ransom: On the trail of Thailand’s human traffickers
By Jonathan Head As the trade in human beings becomes more and more profitable, the BBC’s Jonathan Head discovers that entire communities in Thailand are helping the traffickers. Earlier this month, I accompanied a group of Thai volunteers through the…
Islamic State ‘in control’ of Syria’s Palmyra
Islamic State militants have taken near complete control of the Syrian city of Palmyra, home to some of the world’s most magnificent ancient ruins. There are fears that the militants will destroy the ruins, which Unesco has designated a World…
Missing migrant boat found as countries offer shelter
Migrants found by the BBC last week drifting off the coast of Thailand have been rescued by Indonesian fishermen. A BBC reporter who reached their boat says it is filthy and insect-infested. In a significant change, Malaysia and Indonesia agreed…
ISIS tightens its grip on Iraqi twon of Ramadi
Islamic State militants are cementing their hold on Ramadi – the Iraqi city they captured on Sunday, reports say. Militants were going door-to-door looking for government sympathisers and throwing bodies in the nearby Euphrates river, residents were quoted as saying.
‘Clinton emails won’t be released until January 2016
By Jason Leopold Roughly 55,000 pages worth of emails that belong to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton won’t be released any time soon, according to court papers filed Monday night, which say the State Department doesn’t intend to make the…
Islamic State says it has full control of Iraq’s Ramadi
Islamic State militants said they had taken full control of the western Iraqi city of Ramadi on Sunday in the biggest defeat for the Baghdad government since last summer.In a statement, the group said it had seized tanks and killed…
Iraqi city of Ramadi falls to Islamic State
The Iraqi city of Ramadi has fallen to Islamic State (IS) after government forces abandoned their positions, officials say. The police and military made a chaotic retreat after days of intense fighting. But the US refused to confirm the capture,…
IS militants being smuggled to Europe with boat refugee
Islamic State (IS) is smuggling militants from North Africa to Europe across the Mediterranean Sea in ships carrying thousands of immigrants.Libyan government adviser Abdul Basit Haroun has told the BBC that a large part of human trafficking from North Africa…
Myanmar denies responsbility for migrant boat crisis
Myanmar’s government has said it is not responsible for the migrant boat crisis in south-east Asia, and may not attend an emergency summit on the issue. Thousands of migrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar are feared stranded in boats in the…
Eight bodies recovered from wreckage of US helicopter in Nepal
The bodies of eight soldiers have been recovered from the wreckage of a US military helicopter lost on an earthquake relief mission in Nepal high on a mountainside, Nepali officials said on Saturday.The remains would soon be transferred to Kathmandu,…
Egypt’s Morsi sentenced to death
An Egyptian court has sentenced ousted president Mohammed Morsi to death over a mass prison break in 2011. The former leader has already been sentenced to 20 years in jail for ordering the arrest and torture of protesters during his…