The Maldives has started to vote in a heavily-criticised election that will be closely watched by India and China. The Indian Ocean archipelago is best-known overseas for its clear waters and high-end resorts but its government stands accused of crushing dissent.   President Abdulla Yameen has embraced China, while his opponent, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, is seen as leaning towards India ...

Militants shot dead at least 29 people including women and children in an attack Saturday on an Iranian military parade claimed by the Islamic State group, as Tehran accused a US ally in the region of the assault. The attack in the southwestern city of Ahvaz came as the country marked the anniversary of the start of its 1980-1988 war ...

A US military drone attack in southern Somalia killed 18 al-Shabab fighters after American and local forces on the ground came under attack, the US Africa Command said. The air strike was carried out Friday in self-defence after fighters were “observed manoeuvring on a combined patrol,” while the US also responded with “indirect fire”, a military spokesman said on Saturday. ...

Twitter has told an undisclosed number of users their private messages may have been leaked to third-parties for more than a year.   The software “bug”, which has since been fixed, involved direct messages between users and businesses that offer customer services via Twitter.  Affected users are being notified via a message that appeared when opening the app or logging ...

At least three persons were killed and three others injured in an explosion that ripped through an illegal firecracker factory in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh Saturday, police said. The mishap occurred at the firecracker unit in the state’s Rajahmahendravaram district.   “The blast occurred when fireworks were being made in a thatched house this morning. Three persons ...

The Philippines has suspended all mining operations in seven regions of the country after a new landslide killed at least 29 people near a limestone quarry on Cebu island. Rescue operations resumed on Friday after a hillside collapsed and surged down on about 24 houses in two rural villages in Naga city on Thursday.   DPA news agency quoted an ...

Gunmen attacked a military parade in the southwestern Iranian city of Ahvaz on Saturday, killing at least eight members of the elite Revolutionary Guard and wounding 20 others, state media said. The state-run IRNA news agency reported that the wounded included a woman and a child but did not elaborate.   Earlier reports described the assailants as “Takfiri,” a term ...

An Afghan official says at least eight children have been killed in a roadside bomb explosion in northern Faryab province. Karim Yuresh, spokesman for the provincial police chief, says six other kids were wounded in the blast that took place late Friday afternoon in Shirin Tagab district.   Yuresh says that according to a hospital report, two of the wounded ...

President Donald Trump has challenged the woman who has accused his Supreme Court nominee of sexual assault, demanding she provide evidence. Mr Trump questioned why law enforcement was not called at the time of the alleged assault, in 1982, if it was “as bad as she says”.   The nomination of Brett Kavanaugh has been held up while the allegations ...

Volunteers have been helping rescue efforts At least 136 people have died after a ferry carrying hundreds of people capsized on Lake Victoria, Tanzania, officials say.   Many are missing and it is feared that more than 200 people in total may have drowned. Rescue efforts resumed on Friday after being halted overnight.  The MV Nyerere ferry overturned near Ukara ...