Former German chancellor and architect of reunification Helmut Kohl is in intensive care after surgery on his intestine, German media reports say. The 85-year-old conservative is in a clinic in the south-western city of Heidelberg, Der Spiegel reports. There has been no official comment from the clinic or his office. The so-called “father of reunification” was modern Germany’s longest-serving chancellor, ...

Iraq and its allies are pursuing “the winning strategy” to combat Islamic State in Iraq, US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said. Mr Blinken said air strikes and supporting Iraqi forces was the right way to tackle the IS threat. Ministers from 20 countries debated the issue in Paris – though Russia, Iran and Syria were absent. Iraq’s ...

A powerful undersea earthquake south of Japan has shaken buildings in Tokyo and been felt across the country. The US Geological Survey said the 7.8-magnitude earthquake was centred 874km (543 miles) from the Japanese capital, at a depth of more than 660km. The earthquake struck at 20:30 local time (11:30 GMT). Buildings in the capital swayed for almost a minute ...

A Thai court has issued an arrest warrant for a senior army officer accused of being involved in the trafficking of Rohingya migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh. Lieutenant General Manas Kongpan could face a criminal trial. He is willing to hand himself in, Thai reports say. The warrant is part of efforts to close down smuggling routes through Thailand. Meanwhile ...

Media caption Martin Patience tests the mood among Beijing diners ahead of the ban Public smoking in China’s capital, Beijing, is now banned after the introduction of a new law. China has over 300 million smokers and more than a million Chinese die from smoking-related illnesses every year. Smoking bans already existed in China, but have largely failed to crack ...

It is a club where membership is a “privilege that offers enormous rewards”, but Australia is planning to strip membership from alleged terrorists who hold dual nationality. New legislation proposed by Australia’s Coalition government, expected to be introduced within weeks, will enable the government to remove Australian citizenship from dual nationals who take up arms or support militant groups at ...

Bangladesh wrapped up their warm-up campaign for the Joint Qualifiers of the World Cup and the Asian Cup with a 1-1 draw against Afghanistan at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on Tuesday. The men in red and whites, who had lost against Singapore 1-2 on Saturday, took a fourth minute lead through veteran striker Zahid Hasan Emily, but conceded the equaliser ...

An experienced yet tired Bangladesh side will be in the mood to experiment when they face south Asian neighbours Afghanistan in a Fifa international friendly at Bangabandhu National Stadium today. Less than 72 hours after tasting an undeserved defeat against Singapore in another friendly, the Bangladesh footballers did not get enough time to recover so Dutch head coach Lodewijk de ...

Indian tennis player Sania Mirza entered the women’s doubles final, partnering Swiss ace Martina Hingis, at the Rome Masters here on Saturday. The top seeds beat French-Slovenian fourth seeds Caroline Garcia and Katarine Srebotnik 6-2, 7-6(5) on the outdoor clay courts of the Foro Italico.

Robin Soderling – who remains the only man ever to have beaten Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros – is hoping he will be able to return to the ATP Tour in 2016.The two-time French Open finalist has not played competitively since July 2011 because of severe glandular fever, but has told BBC Radio 5 live of his optimism he still ...