Ten years after their arrests in a politically charged case that prompted accusations of police overreach, eight members of an alleged “anarchist cell” will go on trial in France on Tuesday over claims of sabotaging high-speed train lines. The “Tarnac group”, named after the village near their communal living compound …

Elements of the Taliban are open to talks with the Afghan government, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Tuesday as he arrived in Kabul on an unannounced visit. Mattis flew into the war-torn city two weeks after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani unveiled a plan to open peace talks with the …

Pressure mounted Tuesday on Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe over a ballooning cronyism and cover-up scandal, as a new poll showed his support at the lowest level since his re-election in October. Abe and his finance minister Taro Aso have been on the ropes in recent days following revelations that …

In a derelict car park a stone’s throw from the centre of Rome live dozens of mostly African migrants, who sleep in tents while dreaming of escaping to northern Europe. The March 4 general election saw parties promising mass expulsions of illegal immigrants make big gains, but in reality little …

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday after a series of public rifts over issues including North Korea and Russia, replacing his chief diplomat with loyalist CIA Director Mike Pompeo. The biggest shakeup of Trump’s Cabinet since he took office more than a year …

The United States gave the Philippine air force its first surveillance drone system on Tuesday, as the two nations step up cooperation in the battle against jihadist militants. Washington has been boosting its backing for Philippine counter-terror efforts since supporters of the Islamic State group seized parts of the southern …

MOSCOW: Soon after Vladimir Putin is re-elected on Sunday, his thoughts will turn to the question that is likely to dominate his next term as Russia’s president: what will he do when it ends? Putin’s victory in the presidential election is not in doubt as his ratings are high and …

TOKYO: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a South Korean representative on Tuesday he wants talks with North Korea, called to dismantle Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons and missile programmes, to resolve a dispute over past abductions of Japanese citizens as well. “A resolution of the abduction, nuclear and missile issues is Japan’s …

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 …

CAMBRIDGE: Renowned British physicist Stephen Hawking, whose mental genius and physical disability made him a household name and inspiration across the globe, has died at age 76, his family said Wednesday. Propelled to superstardom by his 1988 book “A Brief History of Time”, which became an unlikely worldwide bestseller, Hawking …