A Japanese whaling fleet returned to port Friday after an annual Antarctic hunt that killed more than 300 of the mammals as Tokyo pursues the programme in defiance of global criticism. The fleet set sail for the Southern Ocean in November, with plans to slaughter 333 minke whales, flouting a...

 An explosion hit the Pakistani city of Parachinar, in the remote northwestern tribal region, Friday, killing at least five people and wounding 40, Ikramullah Khan, the local political agent, said. Earlier this year, at least 21 people were killed when an explosion hit a vegetable...

Despite using state-of-the-art weaponry, the U.S.-led coalition fighting ISIS in Iraq appears unable to avoid civilian casualties as it battles the extremists in close urban combat. The coalition is backing Iraqi forces in the battle to push out ISIS from west Mosul, a maze of narrow and...

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told a German newspaper the European Union should take a tough stance in negotiations with Britain over its exit from the bloc after more than 40 years of membership. British Prime Minister Theresa May Wednesday formally notified Brussels of...

The United States' diplomatic policy on Syria for now is no longer focused on making the war-torn country's president, Bashar al-Assad, leave power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said on Thursday, in a departure from the Obama administration's initial and public stance on Assad's...

The White House has invited the top Republican and Democratic members of the Senate and House of Representatives intelligence panels to review new material relevant to their investigation into Russia's alleged interference in the U.S. presidential election, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said...

Three alleged international human traffickers who are suspected of smuggling recruits for ISIS and helping to finance the group have been arrested in a town on Kenya's coast, police said Thursday. Police spokesman George Kinoti said the two Kenyans and a Somali were arrested Monday in the...

On west Mosul's Baghdad street, thousands of displaced Iraqis flee the fighting with their meagre belongings but similar numbers walk in the other direction, heading straight back into the war-torn city. The street is currently the main corridor for civilians fleeing the battle between the...

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson acknowledged on Thursday that Washington faced difficult choices in the fight against Islamic State in Syria but sought to downplay differences with NATO ally Turkey over support for Kurdish militia fighters. Speaking after meetings in Ankara with...

Iran strongly denied any meddling Thursday after Arab leaders condemned "foreign interference" in their affairs in a clear reference to the Islamic republic. Arab heavyweight Saudi Arabia has been at loggerheads with Iran over the conflicts in Syria and Yemen and political unrest in Bahrain,...

At least 14 people were killed when a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle at an entrance to Baghdad, in an attack claimed by ISIS, officials said Thursday. The blast, which hit the checkpoint at the main southern entrance to the city Wednesday night, also wounded at least...

Turkey will take the necessary diplomatic and legal steps regarding the arrest of a top banker from Turkey's Halkbank, an adviser to President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday. An executive from Turkey's fifth-largest listed bank by assets, Halkbank, is accused of conspiring with...

Saudi Aramco has formally appointed JPMorgan Chase & Co, Morgan Stanley and HSBC as international financial advisers for its initial public offering, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The trio join Moelis & Co and Evercore, which have been appointed independent financial...

Britain's chief negotiator in the country's divorce from the European Union is rejecting the suggestion that the government has threatened to end security cooperation unless it gets the trade deal it wants. David Davis told the BBC that Prime Minister Theresa May's letter triggering talks on...

As America's 16-year war in Afghanistan drags on, Russia is resurrecting its own interest in the "graveyard of empires." The jockeying includes engaging the Taliban and leading a new diplomatic effort to tackle Afghanistan's future, all while Washington leaves the world guessing on its strategy...

U.N. chief Antonio Guterres arrived in Iraq Thursday to review the humanitarian situation, calling for protection of civilians to be the "absolute priority" as Iraqi forces battle to retake Mosul. "Just arrived in Iraq to focus on the dire humanitarian situation on the ground. Protection of...

China and the European Union need to show joint leadership on climate change and cannot expect the "same leadership" from the new administration in the United States, European climate commissioner Miguel Arias Canete said in Beijing Thursday. Canete, speaking to reporters after meeting...

South Korea's disgraced ex-President Park Geun-hye was being questioned Thursday by a court that will decide if she should be arrested over corruption allegations that have already toppled her from power. Live TV footage earlier showed a stern-looking Park entering the Seoul Central District...

U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said on Wednesday that Syria's President Bashar al-Assad is a "big hindrance in trying to move forward" to find an end to the country's six-year conflict. "I'm not going to go back into should Assad be in or out, been there, done that,...

Turkish authorities arrested a Syrian man who allegedly recruited militants from European countries to fight for ISIS, the state-run news agency reported Wednesday. Anadolu Agency said the man, identified as Safwan Qahwati, was arrested Wednesday after a court order earlier, days after he...