International

Israeli aircraft struck dozens of militant sites across the Gaza Strip early Saturday as militants fired some 30 rockets into Israel, in the heaviest exchange of fire between the bitter enemies in several weeks. The fighting followed a bloody day of border protests, in which Israeli forces shot and killed four Palestinians protesting along the perimeter fence dividing Hamas-ruled Gaza ...

The White House has formally invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to Washington, US National Security Advisor John Bolton said on Friday, returning to an idea that was put on hold in July amid anger in the US over the prospect of such a summit. President Donald Trump held a summit with Putin in Helsinki, the Finnish capital, and then issued ...

The death toll in an eastern China coal mine collapse has risen to 11, with 10 miners still trapped underground, state media reported. One week after the disaster, rescue crews were clearing fallen rock from the shaft, with the remaining miners believed to be located 74 meters (242 feet) below the surface, the official Xinhua News Agency said late Friday. ...

Chinese police report 14 children have been injured in an attack by a knife-wielding assailant at a kindergarten in the western city of Chongqing. The report posted on the police force’s microblog said the early Friday morning assault at the Xinshiji Kindergarten was carried out by a 39-year-old woman identified only by her surname, Liu.   China has suffered a ...

Polls will open in the Republic of Ireland later on Friday as voters elect their president. Mr Higgins is the first incumbent in 50 years to face a challenge in his bid for a second seven-year erm.   The president is Ireland’s “first citizen”, but has limited power – the role is mainly symbolic and he or she cannot get ...

Floods sweep away students, teachers near Dead Sea, 18 dead   Flash floods unleashed by heavy rains swept away middle school students and teachers visiting hot springs near the Dead Sea on Thursday, killing 18 and injuring 35 as the torrent carried some for several kilometers, a civil defense official said.  Thirteen people escaped without injuries, said Brig. Gen. Farid ...

US authorities pressed ahead Thursday with an all-out probe into who was behind pipe bombs sent to Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, other top Democrats, and CNN, all of them hate figures for supporters of President Donald Trump. Trump critics accused him of encouraging violence just days before a bitterly divided America votes November 6 in elections.   Trump reacted to ...

The Israeli military says it has struck several Hamas militant sites in Gaza following a rocket attack on southern Israel. The military says its jets struck eight military targets in three Hamas compounds in the Gaza Strip early on Thursday.   The strikes were in response to an overnight rocket attack — the first firing from Gaza since a missile ...

A Yemeni hospital official says the death toll from an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition near the flashpoint Red Sea port of Hodeida has climbed to 19. The director of the Bayt el-Faqih hospital, Abdullah Shahawi, says all the victims are civilians.   The airstrike, which hit an outdoor fruit and vegetable market on Wednesday in the town of Bayt ...

The killing of a journalist has abruptly transformed Saudi Arabia’s crown prince from a partner to a liability in the eyes of Washington — which nonetheless now enjoys more leverage over the ambitious heir apparent. President Donald Trump had enthusiastically endorsed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s consolidation of power, with the 33-year-old forging a close, chatty relationship with Trump’s son-in-law ...