Sanaa, Aug 25 : A senior al-Qaida leader was killed in Yemen’s central province of Marib while fighting alongside the government forces battling Shiite rebels, officials and tribal leaders said Saturday. Ghalib al-Zaidi’s death came a week ago in an exchange of fire during clashes with the rebels, known as Houthis, in the Sirwah district of Marib, they told The ...

Rome, Aug 25 : The United Nations’ refugee agency is imploring European Union countries to take responsibility for 150 migrants stranded aboard an Italian coast guard ship and urging Italy to let the migrants off the ship immediately. The Diciotti rescued the migrants from a trafficker’s boat on Aug. 16. The ship has been docked in Sicily for days, and ...

Kabul, Aug 25 : At least two people were killed and four others wounded Saturday when a suicide bomber detonated his vest full of explosives near the office of the Election Commission in eastern Nangarhar province, officials said. Attahullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor, said the wounded were brought to the regional hospital in the capital city Jalalabad with ...

Tehran, Aug 25 : Iranian media are reporting that a water heater has exploded in Mashhad in the country’s north, causing a building to collapse and killing 10 people. Five others were injured and hospitalized in the Saturday incident, according to the reports, which did not elaborate. It was one the most deadly such incidents in Iran. Many Iranians use ...

Islamabad, Aug 25 : Pakistan’s new government has banned the discretionary use of state funds and first-class air travel by officials and leaders, including the president and the prime minister, as part of its austerity drive, reports NDtv. The decisions were made at a Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan yesterday, according to Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry. “It ...

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 – ...