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The prime minister of Iceland has asked the president to dissolve parliament after allegations he concealed millions of dollars worth of investments in an offshore company. PM Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson faced growing pressure over documents showing he and his wife owned offshore firm Wintris. A big protest was held in front of parliament in Iceland on Monday. Dozens of high-profile global ...

State media in Syria have accused militants from so-called Islamic State (IS) of using mustard gas against government forces in the north-east. Troops came under fire at an air base which IS has been trying to capture in Deir al-Zour, they say. Meanwhile, rebels have shot down a Syrian fighter plane over the province of Aleppo. Unconfirmed reports say militants ...

Masood Azhar, today the head of one of Pakistan’s most violent militant groups, was once the VIP guest of Britain’s leading Islamic scholars. Why, asks Innes Bowen. When one of the world’s most important jihadist leaders landed at Heathrow airport on 6 August 1993, a group of Islamic scholars from Britain’s largest mosque network was there to welcome him. Within ...

A son of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has defended his family’s ownership of offshore companies, saying the family has done “nothing wrong”. Leaked documents show that three of Mr Sharif’s children were linked to offshore companies that owned properties in London, local media say. Some opposition leaders have called for Mr Sharif to be investigated over his family’s “wealth ...

Myanmar’s parliament has passed a bill that gives Aung San Suu Kyi a role similar to that of prime minister. The Lower House passed the bill to create the post of “state counsellor”, which now requires only presidential approval to become law. Unelected military representatives holding a quarter of parliamentary seats boycotted the vote, calling the bill unconstitutional. Ms Suu ...

A Swiss secondary school has caused uproar by allowing two Muslim boys not to shake hands with women teachers – a common greeting in Swiss schools. The boys had told the school in the small, northern town of Therwil it was against their faith to touch a woman outside their family. Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga said shaking hands was part ...

‘Panama Papers’ reveal offshore havens of rich and powerful; govts begin probe Governments across the world began investigating possible financial wrongdoing by the rich and powerful yesterday after a leak of four decades of documents from a Panamanian law firm that specialised in setting up offshore companies. Agencies The “Panama papers” revealed financial arrangements of global politicians and public figures ...

Greek authorities recorded 766 new arrivals between Tuesday morning and Wednesday morning, up from 192 the previous day. Most arrived on the northeastern Aegean island of Lesbos. Italy reported an even larger jump in arrivals on Tuesday, when officials there said 1,350 people – mostly from Africa – were rescued from small boats taking the longer migration route over the ...

An overpass under construction in the bustling Indian city of Kolkata collapsed on to moving traffic below, killing at least 14 people with as many as 150 people feared trapped, police said. Residents were using their bare hands to try to rescue people pinned under a 100-metre (110-yard) length of metal and cement that snapped off at one end and ...

The Cypriot ex-wife of an Egyptian man who authorities say admitted to hijacking a domestic EgyptAir flight and threatened to blow it up with a fake suicide belt says her former husband is an “extremely dangerous man” who used drugs, terrorised his family and beat her and their children. Marina Paraschou rejected media reports that 59-year-old Seif Eldin Mustafa hijacked ...