INTERNATIONAL

At least 28 people have died in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, in a double bombing claimed by so-called Islamic State (IS). The explosions happened one after another in the busy al-Sinak market. More than 50 people were injured. Police said a roadside bomb exploded near a car spare parts shop, then a suicide bomber detonated his device among the crowd ...

Islamist terrorism is the biggest challenge facing Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel has said in her New Year message. Referring to the deadly truck attack in Berlin by a Tunisian asylum seeker, she said it was “sickening” when acts of terror were carried out by people who had sought protection. She said 2016 had been a year of “severe tests”. But ...

Police in Brazil say the Greek ambassador to the country was killed by a local police officer who was having an affair with the envoy’s wife. Kyriakos Amiridis had been missing since Monday. His body was found in a burnt-out car on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro on Thursday. Police say the ambassador’s Brazilian wife, Francoise Amiridis, plotted the ...

At least five workers have died and nearly two dozen are feared trapped in a coal mine which has collapsed in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand. The incident happened late in the evening on Thursday at a government-owned mine in Godda district. Efforts are continuing to reach the miners, who are believed to be still trapped, officials told BBC ...

The Russian foreign ministry has called for the expulsion of 35 US diplomats in response to a similar move by Washington. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the request had been made to President Vladimir Putin. The Obama administration expelled 35 Russia diplomats and their families over alleged Russian hacking during the US election campaign. Russia denies any involvement and calls ...

Russia has promised to respond to the expulsion of 35 of its diplomats from Washington, amid a bitter dispute over alleged Russian interference in the recent US presidential election. A spokesman for President Vladimir Putin said the Kremlin’s reaction would cause the US “significant discomfort”. However, he hinted that Russia may wait until Donald Trump, who has played down the ...

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to throw officials out of a flying helicopter if they misuse public funds — and admitted on live television that he’s done it before. “Whoever will use this (public funds) for corruption, I will get him ride the helicopter with me going to Manila and will push him out while we we are up on ...

Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned as biased a speech by outgoing US Secretary of State John Kerry on Israeli-Palestinian issues. Mr Kerry said the prospect of a peace deal based on a two-state solution was in grave jeopardy. Israeli settlement building on occupied land was a major problem, he said. Mr Netanyahu said he was disappointed with the speech, ...

The attack on Pearl Harbor shaped the lives of Japanese-Americans long after World War Two ended. As Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits Hawaii, the internment and treatment of Japanese-Americans during the war continues to resonate in today’s political landscape. When US President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stood together in Hiroshima in late May, they made ...

At least 32 people have died and dozens have been left seriously ill after drinking toxic alcohol over Christmas in Punjab in Pakistan, officials say. The dead, mostly minority Christians, consumed the homemade liquor in the city of Toba Tek Singh. Muslims are forbidden from buying or drinking alcohol in Pakistan – and minorities need a permit to buy liquor. ...