INTERNATIONAL

A Hong Kong bookseller who went missing several days ago is thought to be in detention in mainland China. The wife of Lee Bo said her husband had called her from a telephone number in Shenzhen to say he was helping with an investigation. Mr Lee is the fifth person linked to the same bookshop to go missing in the ...

The United States has expressed concern that Saudi Arabia’s execution of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr could further exacerbate sectarian rivalry in the Middle East. The US State Department urged leaders throughout the region to redouble efforts to lower tensions. Iranian protesters angry over the execution stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran, setting fire to the building. Sheikh Nimr ...

Saudi Arabia has executed the prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, the interior ministry said. He was among 47 people put to death after being convicted of terrorism offences, it said in a statement. Sheikh Nimr was a vocal supporter of the mass anti-government protests that erupted in Eastern Province in 2011, where a Shia majority have long complained of ...

Four gunmen have been killed in a pre-dawn attack on an Indian air force base near Pakistani border, officials say. Two soldiers at the Pathankot base were also killed in a gun battle lasting several hours. Operations at the base are continuing, with some reports saying gunmen are holed up in the base. The incident came days after the Indian ...

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame has confirmed that he will seek re-election for a third term in 2017. The announcement was expected after a referendum approved constitutional changes to allow him to run for three further terms and could potentially see him to stay in power until 2034. Mr Kagame said Rwandans had made clear they wanted him to lead the ...

Police in Brussels have detained a further six people in connection with an alleged plot to target the city on New Year’s Eve, prosecutors say. Cities around the world have heightened security measures as New Year celebrations get under way. Belgian police detained the six during raids at seven locations in and around the capital on Thursday morning. Two men ...

A Canada-bound airliner was forced to make an emergency landing after severe turbulence injured 21 passengers, including three children, officials said. The Air Canada flight from Shanghai to Toronto was diverted to Calgary after the turbulence hit. Eight passengers suffered neck and back injuries and 13 more were taken to hospital for observation. Those hurt were in a stable condition, ...

Security is being stepped up in major European cities ahead of New Year celebrations, with officials wary of possible terror plots. New Year fireworks and festivities have been cancelled in the Belgian capital Brussels because of an alert. Extra measures will also be in place in cities including Paris, London, Berlin and Moscow. Meanwhile in Turkey, security services say they ...

Prosecutors in Pennsylvania have filed the first sexual assault charges against US comedian Bill Cosby. Mr Cosby has been charged with aggravated indecent assault after an investigation involving a former local university employee and an alleged incident in 2004. He has previously said under oath he had a consensual sexual encounter with the woman. The case was re-opened after dozens ...

The US space agency Nasa has warned that the effects of the current El Nino weather phenomenon could be as bad as those of 1998, the strongest on record. That El Nino played havoc with world weather systems and was blamed for several extreme weather events. The current El Nino has been linked to several floods and unusually warm conditions ...