Russian President Vladimir Putin told Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro Wednesday he supported talks between the embattled leader and the opposition, warning that refusing dialogue could further threaten the crisis-stricken country. Welcoming the leftist leader at the Kremlin, Putin reiterated...

China marks 70 years of Communist rule next week, with a massive military parade in Beijing anchoring celebrations of its emergence as a global superpower, despite a damaging year of trade tensions with the US and pro-democracy unrest in Hong Kong. The anniversary is meant to showcase...

Rescue workers battled on Wednesday to reach people affected by a shallow earthquake that rocked northeast Pakistan a day earlier, killing at least 22 people and injuring hundreds more as it tore roads apart and felled buildings. Schools were shuttered near the quake-hit city of Mirpur in...

At least 19 people have been killed and 300 wounded after a shallow earthquake rattled north-eastern Pakistan, a senior police officer said, with the tremor tearing car-sized cracks into roads and heavily damaging infrastructure. The quake sent people in cities across the country running...

A UN body on Monday warned that the haze having caused by the forest and peatland fires in Indonesia has put 10 million children at risk from air pollution. A statement issued by UNICEF noted that small children are especially vulnerable to air pollution “because they breathe more rapidly.”...

The U.S. is not considering sanctions on North Korea, President Donald Trump said Monday in a sit-down with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.  The meeting came on the sidelines of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly in New York. "I'm not considering actions. We're getting...

Monday’s fresh riots left at least 23 people killed and 77 others injured in Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua, police said on Tuesday. The riots were triggered by a report about a teacher’s racist remarks towards his students, which was later confirmed by police as a fake report....

Brazil's defense minister said on Monday 63 people were arrested and issued fines amounting to $8.7 million after the military was sent to fight raging fires in the Amazon rainforest. The announcement came as President Jair Bolsonaro arrived in New York to attend the UN General Assembly,...

Hong Kong's embattled leader said Tuesday more than 20,000 people have applied to take part in a dialogue session with her and "vent their anger" at the government after three months of huge pro-democracy protests. It is the government's first attempt to reach out to the protestors since...

Ordinary Afghans are divided on whether to defy the Taliban's threats and cast their ballots in a presidential election this week, and even those who are willing to vote fear the poll will be tainted by fraud. "It is a chance to bring changes," says teacher Mohsen Karimi, 30, from the...

U.S. President Donald Trump’s attendance at a meeting solely about Venezuela during the U.N. General Assembly this week was a “clear sign” that pressure on President Nicolas Maduro would increase, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido’s chief diplomat said on Monday. Trump and U.S...

Set in 2019, cult 80s movie "Blade Runner" envisaged a neon-stained landscape of bionic "replicants" genetically engineered to look just like humans. So far that has failed to materialise, but at a secretive research institute in western Japan, wild-haired roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro is...

Aid group Doctors Without Borders (MSF) on Monday accused the World Health Organization of rationing the Ebola vaccine in the Democratic Republic of Congo where more than 2,100 people have died of the deadly virus. "One of the main problems currently is the fact that in practice the vaccine...

US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday declared themselves united in a relentless fight against "terrorism," vowing a close, personal alliance in front of tens of thousands of Indian-Americans.  The two leaders, like-minded nationalists fond of...

On Monday, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will position himself on the frontline against climate change as he presides over a UN emergency summit, a role some say he turned to after difficulties in resolving global conflict. Speaking about rising temperatures, the 70-year-old recently...

Hong Kong reduced rail and bus links to the city's airport on Sunday and police stepped up security checks in a bid to scupper plans by pro-democracy protesters to disrupt the bustling transport hub. The airport -- the world's eighth busiest -- has become a frequent target for a protest...

In connection with the International Peace Day, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Saturday blamed Taliban for the bloodshed in the country by not accepting ceasefire offer. In a televised speech, President Ghani said the raging violence continues in the country simply because the Taliban are...

Groups of China supporters pulled down “Lennon Walls” of anti-government protest messages across Hong Kong on Saturday, raising the possibility of clashes with democracy supporters and another weekend of trouble. By mid-morning, dozens of Beijing supporters had started to tear down the...

U.S. President Donald Trump will tout U.S. leadership and a collective approach to challenges while at the United Nations next week, said a senior administration official on Friday, as Washington seeks to use the gathering of world leaders to build support to take on Iran and call out China...

The Afghan government has lost millions of dollars worth of planned U.S. assistance over alleged corruption surrounding the procurement decisions. “Government institutions and leaders in Afghanistan must be transparent and accountable. We stand against those who exploit positions of power...