Taliban kidnap dozens of bus passengers in Afghanistan despite ceasefire
Taliban insurgents kidnapped dozens of passengers after stopping three buses in northern Afghanistan on Monday, officials said, a day after the government announced a ceasefire with the Islamist militants.
Turkey’s Erdogan says attack on economy no different from attack on flag
President Tayyip Erdogan on Monday cast a recent currency crisis as an attack on Turkey’s economy, no different from a strike against the flag or call to prayer, taking a defiant tone in his address at the eve of the Muslim Eid al-Adha festival.
Italy’s deputy PM not aware of ad-hoc law to revoke Autostrade concession
Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini on Monday said he was not aware of a plan to write a law to revoke concessions held by Autostrade per l’Italia to operate toll highways after the collapse of a bridge in Genoa last week.
Tears, joy as Korean families separated by war reunite briefly after 65 years
Some 90 families from the two Koreas were reunited in the North on Monday, weeping and embracing each after being torn apart for more than six decades by the 1950-53 Korean War.
Shots fired at U.S. embassy in Turkish capital, no casualties
The U.S. Embassy in the Turkish capital Ankara came under brief gunfire early on Monday but nobody was hurt in the incident, which coincides with increased tensions between the two NATO allies over the trial of a U.S. pastor in Turkey.
Iran tells EU to speed up efforts to save nuclear deal
Iran urged Europe on Monday to speed up efforts to salvage a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers that U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned in May, saying French oil group Total has formally pulled out a major gas project.
Australian PM waters down energy bill to dampen leadership pressure
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Monday averted a possible leadership challenge by dropping targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions to appease his critics, say local media, as a poll showed his government losing voter support.
Spanish police shoot man trying to attack police station
Spanish police said on Monday they had shot a man armed with a knife as he tried to attack a police station in the northeastern region of Catalonia.
Myanmar verdict in Reuters reporters’ case August 27: judge says
The judge in the trial of two Reuters reporters jailed in Myanmar on accusations of obtaining secret state documents said on Monday he will deliver his verdict on August 27, in a case that is seen as a test of press freedom in the fledgling democracy.
India’s flood-hit Kerala faces huge clean-up, fear of disease
Indian health authorities prepared defenses against the spread of disease in flood-hit Kerala state on Monday as water receded and a huge clean-up gathered pace after the worst floods in a century killed more than 200 people.
