Russia launched a nuclear-powered icebreaker on Saturday, part of an ambitious program to renew and expand its fleet of the vessels in order to improve its ability to tap the Arctic’s commercial potential. The ship, dubbed the Ural and which was floated out from a dockyard in St Petersburg,...

The head of India’s main opposition Congress party, Rahul Gandhi, offered to quit on Saturday after a crushing election defeat but senior party officials rejected his offer and called instead for a major internal shake-up. Gandhi, 48 and the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, had been under...

Two Libyan journalists held by an armed group for more than three weeks have been released, the television channel they work for said Saturday. "We congratulate the press world for the release of our two colleagues, Mohamad al-Gurj and Mohamad al-Chibani, who were kidnapped by Haftar's...

Sri Lanka's military launched a major hunt Saturday for remnants of an Islamist group which carried out the Easter suicide bombings that killed 258 people, officials said. Several Colombo suburbs were targeted by troops using emergency powers on arrests and detentions adopted after the...

Nine civilians were killed in overnight air strikes east of Yemen's third city of Taez, a medic and rebel forces said Saturday. Two children were among the nine killed in air strikes by an Arab-led military coalition fighting on the side of the government, a doctor at Al-Thawra hospital...

New players are exploiting internet lawlessness to disrupt democracy at this week's European elections, says a new report that points a finger at far-right populists and cyber militias. With the vote running from May 23-26, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) investigated the role of...

Under the threat of potentially devastating US tariffs on autos, Japan is ready to roll out the newest phase of its charm offensive targeting President Donald Trump as it welcomes him on a state visit tailor-made to his whims and ego. Offering high honors, golf and the chance to present a...

U.S. President Donald Trump, declaring a national emergency because of tensions with Iran, swept aside objections from Congress on Friday to complete the sale of over $8 billion worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. The Trump administration informed...

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan warned against the risk of conflict in the region, following a visit to Islamabad by Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif as tensions between Washington and Tehran escalated. Strains have increased between Iran and the United States, which is a firm...

Thousands of supporters of an Iraqi populist Shiite cleric held sit-ins Friday around Iraq, saying their country should not be a battlefield between the United States and Iran. The sit-ins came days after a rocket slammed into Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, landing less than a mile from...

Police in France were on Saturday hunting a suspect following a blast in a pedestrian street in the heart of the city of Lyon that wounded more than a dozen people just two days ahead of the country's hotly contested European Parliament elections. President Emmanuel Macron called the...

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Saturday a US decision to deploy 1,500 additional troops to the Middle East is a "threat to international peace," state media reported. "Increased US presence in our region is very dangerous and a threat to international peace and security...

At least 29 prisoners were killed and 19 police wounded in clashes at a jail in western Venezuela Friday, authorities said. The incident at the police station jail in the town of Acarigua, in Portuguesa state, occurred when police special forces (FAES) tried to stop a "massive prison break"...

Spain is fighting to improve its international reputation, which has taken a hit from criticism of its handling of Catalonia's independence bid and its colonial past. Spain's reputation dropped in Germany, Italy and France after Catalonia pressed ahead with a banned independence referendum...

At least eight people were injured in a suspected bomb attack in central Lyon Friday, French officials said. The blast occurred around 5:30 pm local time in a pedestrian street in the city in central France. President Emmanuel Macron, who was beginning a broadcast address as news of the...

North Korea said on Friday an “arbitrary and dishonest” U.S. position had resulted in the failure to reach a deal during a second North Korea-U.S. summit, warning the nuclear issue would never be resolved without a new approach. A spokesman for North Korea’s foreign ministry accused the...

Fighting back tears, Theresa May said on Friday she would quit after failing to deliver Brexit, setting up a contest that will install a new British prime minister who could pursue a cleaner break with the European Union. May’s departure deepens the Brexit crisis as a new leader, who should...

A hotel complex in the Libyan capital serving as a base for lawmakers opposed to strongman Khalifa Haftar was hit by rocket fire Friday, witnesses said. The internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) blamed the attack at the Rixos Hotel and Conference Centre on Haftar's...

 U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday he will send about 1,500 American troops to the Middle East, mostly as a protective measure, amid heightened tensions with Iran. He said the deployment involved a relatively small number of troops. The forces would help strengthen American...

Yemen's internationally recognized president sent a letter to the U.N. chief, criticizing his envoy to the war-torn Arab country over allegedly siding with Iran-backed Houthi rebels, the president's office said Friday. In the letter addressed to Antonio Guterres, Yemeni President Abed...