The number of people killed in an Ebola outbreak in eastern DR Congo has risen to 443, health authorities have announced, as new President Felix Tshisekedi began his first full day in office on Friday. The rising death toll -- up by more than 40 in the past ten days -- emphasises the...

A UN official on extrajudicial executions will assess the “steps taken by governments to address and respond” to the killing of a Saudi journalist in Istanbul, and launch an international inquiry, the United Nations said on Friday.  In a statement, the UN’s Human Rights Office of the...

Japan is likely to hold a referendum in southern Okinawa region on Feb. 24 on whether to relocate a U.S. military base in the country, local media reported on Friday. According to The Japan Times, work is underway to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from Ginowan to Henoko....

The latest developments in Venezuela's political crisis have dealt a severe blow to President Nicolas Maduro -- severe, but not fatal, for one key reason: the military still backs him. The National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela pointedly reiterated their loyalty to Maduro on...

A roundtable on solitude, an empathy conference, a meditation workshop: the annual gathering in Davos sometimes appears more like a group therapy session, nudging global elites towards happiness. "I am sorry. It is full," a hostess tells dozens of suit-clad business types who have been...

The Taliban have appointed a co-founder of the movement as the new head of their political office in Doha, where talks have been held since Monday with US officials seeking to end 17 years of conflict in Afghanistan. "The esteemed Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar has been appointed ... head of...

U.S. senators made a new try at ending a partial month-long government shutdown through a temporary funding bill on Thursday, but President Donald Trump demanded a "down payment" for a border wall that Democrats reject. After the Republican-led Senate failed to advance two measures to...

At least 16 members of a single family have been killed in an airstrike by U.S. forces in Afghanistan's restive Helmand province, officials and local media confirmed late Thursday. Helmand Governor Mohammad Yasin Khan has condemned the strike and has called for an investigation....

The United States has not asked for a specific price for the upkeep of its troops in South Korea, President Moon Jae-in said Friday.  Such reports are a "disregard for any leader in the world", a statement issued by the South Korean Presidency quoted Moon as saying.  Reports...

In the wake of demonstrations and unrest in Venezuela, at least 268 protesters have been arrested across the country since Monday, according to local media reports on Thursday. Admiral William Serantes Pinto, commander of the Eastern Integral Defense Strategic Region (Redior), said the...

The Venezuelan Embassy in Turkey on Thursday urged solitary from the people of Turkey amid opposition leader Juan Guaido declaring himself interim president.  “We expect solidarity from the Turkish people,” the embassy said in a statement. The move came after the U.S. recognition...

A UN official on extrajudicial executions will be in Turkey next week for an international probe of last fall's killing of a Saudi journalist in Istanbul, UN sources told Anadolu Agency on Thursday.  Agnes Callamard, the UN’s special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary...

A pair of US congressional committees now under Democratic control have begun probing Deutsche Bank's business dealings with President Donald Trump, a spokesperson for the German bank said Thursday. The inquiry is a joint effort between House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff and...

The U.S. on Thursday called on the UN Security Council to hold an open meeting to discuss the crisis in Venezuela, after mass demonstrations and opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president. The U.S. mission to the UN said on Twitter it has "officially requested an open...

The U.S. on Thursday issued sanctions against two foreign fighter militias tied to Iran and an Iranian civilian airline accused of carrying weapons to Syria. The Treasury Department designated the two militias as the Fatemiyoun Division, which is composed of Afghan nationals, and the...

The world is facing worrying "fragmentation", UN chief Antonio Guterres said Thursday, warning that the relationship between the United States, Russia and China was worryingly out of kilter. "The relationship between the three most important powers, Russia, the United States and China, has...

The proposal of army-ruled Thailand to deploy soldiers at temples in the conflict-ridden southern parts has drawn criticism from a separatist group in the country, local media reported on Thursday. The criticism came a few days after Thai army chief General Apirat Kongsompong visited...

South African groups condemned the U.S. on Thursday for recognizing a Venezuelan opposition leader as "interim president." The South African Communist Party (SACP) described the move recognizing Juan Guaido as leader of Venezuela as an assault on the Latin American country's sovereignty....

US President Donald Trump backed down late Wednesday in a spat with Democrats over his State of the Union address, agreeing to delay it until a government shutdown ends, although the more than month-long impasse dragged on. The US Senate prepared meanwhile Thursday to hold two showdown...

Malaysia's royal families were electing a king Thursday after the last monarch abdicated following his reported marriage to a Russian ex-beauty queen, with a sports-loving sultan in pole position for the role. The previous king, Sultan Muhammad V, stepped aside this month following just two...