World

Nigeria is battling on two fronts against an unprecedented outbreak of Lassa fever, a cousin of Ebola, that has already killed 110 people this year. Even as doctors are grappling to contain the threat, health watchdogs are struggling to understand why the deadly virus has spread so dramatically. The Nigeria …

Prominent Saudis held in what Riyadh dubbed an anti-corruption campaign were subjected to coercion and physical abuse, the New York Times reported Monday, describing fear and uncertainty even after their release. The newspaper said at least 17 detainees were hospitalised after facing abuse, while a Saudi general later died in …

Myanmar is building security installations on top of razed Rohingya villages, Amnesty International said Monday, casting doubt on plans to repatriate hundreds of thousands of refugees. Nearly 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled northern Rakhine state to Bangladesh since Myanmar launched a brutal crackdown on insurgents six months ago that the …

LASHKAR GAH: Taliban fighters have captured a district center in Afghanistan’s western province of Farah bordering Iran, where they have battled government security forces fiercely in recent months, officials said on Monday. Naser Mehri, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said a large group of fighters had captured the center …

MOSCOW: Seven candidates are lined up to run against Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sunday’s election, but his primary political opponent will not be on the ballot. Facing competitors such as a former reality TV star and a director of a fruit farm, Putin is all but guaranteed to win …

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe led a sombre ceremony Sunday as Japan marked the seventh anniversary of a deadly earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster that devastated its northeastern coast and left around 18,500 people dead or missing. The magnitude 9.0 quake — which struck under the Pacific Ocean on March 11, …

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his ally, Finance Minister Taro Aso, face mounting pressure over a suspected cronyism scandal as the finance ministry prepares to report on Monday that documents in the case were doctored. Abe, now in his sixth year in office, had hoped to put the …

Supporters of a black-turbaned Shiite cleric are seeing red in the runup to Iraq’s May elections thanks to an unprecedented alliance with the once-powerful communist party. Populist preacher Moqtada Sadr has defied his clerical rivals and opted to campaign for the May 12 poll alongside former enemies, Marxists who demand …

TEHRAN: A private Turkish plane flying from the United Arab Emirates to Istanbul crashed Sunday in the south of Iran with 11 people on board. The plane had left from the emirate of Sharjah and went down near the city of Shahr-e Kord, about 400 kilometres (250 miles) south of …

BEIJING: China’s parliament on Sunday abolished the presidential term limits through an amendment in the constitution, allowing President Xi Jinping to pursue the vision of transforming the nation into an economic superpower. “It is a key measure to improve the state leadership system,” Shen Chunyao, chairman of the Commission for …