Beijing, Aug 25 : At least 18 people were killed in a fire at a resort hotel in China’s northeastern city of Harbin early Saturday, state media and an official said. The disaster added to a string of deadly blazes that have plagued China despite official efforts to improve public safety over the past two decades. The fire broke out ...

The United Kingdom (UK) has called on the international community to provide long-term support to keep Rohingya people — both in Bangladesh and Myanmar– safe in the years to come. The UK has been at the forefront of that response and has contributed £129 million to support the displaced Rohingya since 25 August 2017, said UK Department for International Development ...

A South Korean appeal court on Friday extended ex-president Park Geun-hye’s prison sentence for corruption and abuse of power by one year. The decision by the Seoul High Court means the former head of state, who was ousted after a sprawling corruption scandal triggered mass protests, faces 25 years in jail.   Park was convicted in April of receiving or ...

Hawaii has been hit with strong winds and torrential rain as Hurricane Lane approaches the US state, causing flash flooding and landslides. Schools and offices were closed as residents took shelter from the storm, which was downgraded to category three strength on Thursday.   As the hurricane neared the islands of the Aloha state, it brought winds of 125 mph ...

Scott Morrison is to be Australia’s new prime minister after Malcolm Turnbull was forced out by party rivals in a bruising leadership contest. Mr Turnbull had been under pressure from poor polling and what he described as an “insurgency” by conservative MPs.   Mr Morrison, the treasurer, won an internal ballot 45-40 over former Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton – ...

Police in Argentina have begun searching properties belonging to the former president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, as part of a major corruption investigation. Forensic scientists, dogs and firefighters helped carry out the raids on two houses in Patagonia and one apartment in Buenos Aires.   It comes after Judge Claudio Bonadio asked to partially lift Ms Fernández’s immunity as he ...

Pressure is mounting on Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull as internal party rivals prepare for a potential imminent leadership contest. Mr Turnbull is fighting to retain his position amid a push by senior colleagues to replace him as leader.   He says he will stand down if a majority of Liberal Party MPs sign a letter to bring on an internal ...

  A British-Iranian woman has been reunited with her family after being granted a three-day release from prison in Iran. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was jailed for five years in 2016 after being convicted of spying, which she denies.  She said she was “overwhelmed” and it would be “awesome” for her four-year-old daughter to “have a mummy again”.   Foreign Secretary Jeremy ...

Photo: Flames engulf a house in Gawdu Zara village, northern Rakhine state, Myanmar, September 7, 2017.  More than 130 lawmakers from across Southeast Asia on Thursday demanded the international community bring officials in Myanmar to justice for the atrocious crimes it committed against its Rohingya population in Rakhine State. In a joint statement, 132 sitting MPs from five countries — Indonesia, ...

London, Aug 23 : Facebook has banned a third-party quiz app amid concerns over the possible misuse of users’ data and pulled its own security software from Apple’s app store after the iPhone maker tightened data security rules. The social media company said Wednesday it took action against the myPersonality app because its creators refused an inspection, and over worries ...