A North Korean defector is reported to have sought asylum at the South Korean consulate in Hong Kong. Full details are unclear, but the South China Morning Post reported that he is believed to have come to Hong Kong to take part in an academic competition two weeks ago. Police patrols around the area have been boosted and...
Funerals have taken place in Kabul for victims of Saturday's suicide bomb attack claimed by so-called Islamic State (IS), which killed 80 people. Bodies were still being collected from morgues as the first burials were conducted in the west of the city. The bomber targeted a protest march by members of the Hazara minority,...
ARGENTINA attempted to prise control of the Falkland Islands from the UK by proposing the territory become independent in secret talks with senior British cabinet ministers, it has emerged. Sir Malcolm Rifkind, who served as foreign secretary in the 1990s, revealed how he held discussions with Argentine officials over the...
A row has erupted over what to do with the land in Pakistan's Abbottabad city where former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden lived and was killed. Local authorities want to construct a children's playground there, while the military wish to build a graveyard. The two sides have tussled over control of the land — and...
The Syrian army and pro-government forces have taken control of the main road leading into rebel-held areas in Aleppo, effectively cutting off the rebels' main supply route, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported Sunday. Aleppo has been a major battlefield in Syria since 2010, with fierce fighting between...
ANGELA Merkel could press ahead with plans to create an EU army following Britain's decision to leave the EU, according to the German defence minister. Ursula von der Leyen, who has been tipped to take over Merkel as Chancellor, said Britain had "paralysed" European efforts for closer integration in military...
Syrian rebel fighters have launched an assault on government-held districts of Aleppo, after troops cut their only route into the divided northern city. The rebel operation began at dawn on several fronts, with hundreds of shells being fired at western areas. State media said eight people were killed and dozens hurt by the...
An international tribunal is set to give a long-awaited ruling, with implications for China's controversial claims in the disputed South China Sea. The case at the tribunal in The Hague was brought by the Philippines, which argues Chinese activity in the region is against international law. China claims about 90% of the...
Two Russian pilots have been killed after their military helicopter was shot down by fighters of so-called Islamic State, the Russian military is quoted as saying by local media. The Syrian Mi-25 helicopter flown by Riafagat Khabibulin and Yevgeny Dolgin was brought down east of the ancient city of Palmyra on Friday. It was...
BRITISH officials were under so much pressure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq that they embarrassed their US colleagues by insisting that medical chemicals were deadly weapons of war. Lieutenant Colonel David Reynolds, of the Parachute Regiment, was in Afghanistan in 2002 helping the hunt for Osama Bin Laden when he...
John Prescott, who was deputy prime minister when Britain went to war with Iraq in 2003, says the invasion by UK and US forces was "illegal". Writing in the Sunday Mirror, he said he would live with the "catastrophic decision" for the rest of his life. Lord Prescott said he now agreed "with great...
ANGELA Merkel has launched a scathing attack on Vladimir Putin amid fears the growing verbal conflict between the two leaders will soon escalate into a large-scale, brutal conflict. As thousands of NATO troops gather on Russia's Baltic border, Angela Merkel yesterday blasted the Kremlin leader, claiming "trust had been...