Flash floods in Afghanistan kill at least 20
At least 20 people including children were killed in southern Afghanistan by flash floods that engulfed up to 2,000 homes and swept away cars, the U.N. agency coordinating relief efforts said on Saturday.
Azeri opposition blogger released after serving two years in jail
An Azeri opposition blogger was released on Saturday after serving two years in prison in a case condemned by human rights activists.
Wounded and alone, children emerge from last Islamic State enclave
Hareth Najem fled Islamic State’s last enclave in eastern Syria wounded and alone. The Iraqi orphan’s family had died two years earlier in air strikes across the border in al-Qaim region.
Explainer: Does Islamic State still pose a threat?
Islamic State looks about to lose its last foothold – on the banks of the Euphrates near the Iraq border – but while its era of territorial rule may be over for now, there is near universal agreement that IS remains a threat.
Iran condemns Britain for listing ally Hezbollah as ‘terrorist’ group
Iran criticized Britain for its decision to list Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, saying on Saturday it ignored both the will of a large portion of the Lebanese people and the Tehran-backed group’s role in fighting Islamic State.
Timeline: The rise and fall of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria
Islamic State faces territorial defeat as U.S.-backed Syrian forces attack its final, besieged enclave near the Iraqi border. This timeline chronicles the lightning rise, cruel reign and gradual fall of Islamic State.
Russian Nobel Prize winner for physics Alferov dies aged 88
Zhores Alferov, the 2000 Nobel prize winner in physics and a member of Russia’s parliament, has died aged 88 in St Petersburg, the Russian Communist party said on Saturday.
Slovenian president says ‘a lot’ of EU states would back Brexit extension
Slovenia’s president said his country and many other European Union states would be open to extending the date Britain is due to leave the bloc, a possibility British Prime Minister Theresa May has raised amid deadlock in parliament.
Pakistan and India step back from the brink, tensions simmer
A flare up between arch-foes India and Pakistan appeared to be easing on Saturday after Islamabad handed back a captured Indian pilot, but tensions continued to simmer amid efforts by global powers to prevent a war between the nuclear-armed neighbors
Islamic State faces final territorial defeat in eastern Syria battle
Islamic State faces final territorial defeat as the U.S.-backed Syrian force battling the jihadists said on Saturday it was closing in on the jihadists’ last bastion near the Iraqi border, capping four years of efforts to roll back the group.
