INTERNATIONAL

More than 2,000 migrants and refugees have been rescued from boats off the coast of Libya in one of the biggest single-day operations mounted, Italy’s coastguards have said. Distress calls came from more than 20 vessels, AFP reported. More than 2,000 people have died this year in attempts to reach Europe in overcrowded, unseaworthy boats. The route from Libya to ...

Three American men are being hailed as heroes for overpowering a heavily-armed gunman on a train in northern France. The incident happened on the high-speed Thalys service near Arras, and the attacker was arrested at Arras station. US President Barack Obama praised the passengers, who included two off-duty US military personnel. The man arrested was a 26-year-old Moroccan. Anti-terrorist officers ...

North and South Korea are to hold top-level talks amid growing tension, the South’s presidential office has said. Senior aides to the two countries’ leaders will meet at the Panmunjom truce village on the border at 0900 GMT, the Blue House said. North Korea had threatened “strong military action” if the South did not stop border loudspeaker broadcasts. Following an ...

Rebels from Greece’s governing left-wing Syriza are to break away and form a new party. Prime Minister and Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras stood down on Thursday, paving the way for new elections. The move came after he lost the support of many of his own MPs in a vote on the country’s new bailout with European creditors earlier this month. ...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered his frontline troops to be on a war footing, state media says, after an exchange of fire with the South across their heavily fortified border. The KCNA report said Mr Kim declared a “semi-state of war” at an emergency meeting late Thursday. It threatened action unless Seoul ends its anti-Pyongyang border broadcasts. The ...

South Korea has ordered the evacuation of residents from an area of its western border after an exchange of fire with North Korea, reports say. North Korea fired a shell at a South Korean military unit on Thursday, prompting the south to retaliate with several artillery rounds, the South’s defence ministry said. South Korea’s National Security Council is due to ...

Monday’s bombing in Thailand was “unlikely” to have been the work of an international terror group, the Thai government has said. Col Winthai Suvaree, a spokesman for the ruling military junta, said this was the preliminary conclusion reached by investigators. The attack on the Erawan Shrine in central Bangkok on Monday evening killed 20 people and injured scores. Police say ...

The bomb attack that killed 20 people at Bangkok’s Erawan shrine on Monday was carried out by a “network”, Thailand’s chief of police has said. Police have released a sketch of the main suspect, a man in a yellow T-shirt who was filmed by security cameras leaving a backpack at the shrine. Police later said two other people seen on ...

The shrine in Bangkok which was hit by a deadly explosion on Monday reopened to the public on Wednesday. At least 20 people died and scores were injured in the attack on the Erawan Shrine, a Hindu site which is also popular with Thai Buddhists. Thai police say the main suspect is a young man seen entering the shrine with ...

Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has said the bombing of a shrine in the capital, Bangkok, on Monday was the “worst ever attack” on the country. The attack killed at least 21 people, including foreigners, and scores were injured. Mr Prayuth said the perpetrators had not been identified, but that police were investigating one suspect seen on security footage at ...