Worst anthrax outbreak in 20 years hits French farms

More than 50 cows, sheep and horses have died in France's most serious outbreak of anthrax in two decades, according to officials who have warned of a vaccine shortage.Authorities in the mountainous …

Afghan Taliban kidnap dozens of bus passengers near Kunduz

About 150 people are reported to have been kidnapped after Taliban militants launched an ambush on three buses in northern Afghanistan.A Taliban spokesman said they were targeting security forces tra…

Pope Francis condemns 'atrocities' of US clerical child abuse

Pope Francis condemned on Monday the "atrocities" revealed by a far-reaching US report into clerical child sex abuse in the state of Pennsylvania issued last week."In recent days, a report was made p…

10 dead as multiple quakes rock Indonesia's Lombok island

A series of powerful earthquakes have rocked the Indonesian holiday island of Lombok, killing at least 10 people and setting off fresh waves of panic after nearly 500 died there following a huge trem…

Three people injured as car mounts pavement in Spain, driver flees

Three people were injured when a car mounted a pavement in the northern Spanish town of Casetas on Monday, before its driver fled, a Civil Guard police spokesman said.The spokesman could give no more…

Gunshots fired at U.S. embassy in Turkish capital, no casualties

Amid a period of tense relations between Ankara and Washington, several gunshots were fired on Monday from a vehicle at the U.S. Embassy in the Turkish capital, causing no casualties.The early mornin…

Separated South Koreans meet relatives in North Korea after several decades apart

Dozens of elderly and frail South Koreans met their Northern relatives  on Monday for the first time since the peninsula and their families were divided by war nearly seven decades ago.The three…

Knife attacker shot by police in Spain

A man wielding a knife and shouting in Arabic was shot dead as he entered a police station at Cornell? de Llobregat, south of Barcelona, Spanish authorities said on Monday.The attacker, said to be 29…

China police detain man for asking why can't Taiwan be called a country

Police in China have detained a man who asked on social media what law prevented anyone calling self-ruled Taiwan a country, questioning a fundamental principle of China's sovereignty.Taiwan is China…

Flood death toll in India's Kerala rises to 164

The death toll from major floods in India's tourist hotspot Kerala has jumped to 164, state chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Friday, issuing a fresh heavy rainfall warning for the battered region…

Xiamen Air passenger jet skids off runway in Manila, no casualties

A passenger plane operated by China's Xiamen Air veered off a rain-soaked runway after landing at Manila's main airport, disrupting flight schedules on Friday due to a temporary runway closure, offic…

Trial of women charged with murder of North Korean to proceed

A Malaysian court has ruled that the evidence against two women accused of murdering the half-brother of North Korea's leader is strong enough for the case to go to trial.Kim Jong-nam died at Kuala L…

Afghan intelligence training centre in Kabul attacked by Gunmen

Gunmen launched an attack on an intelligence training centre in Kabul Thursday, officials said, just a day after a suicide bomber killed dozens of students in the war-weary Afghan capital.It was the …

At least 25 killed in suicide blast in Afghan capital Kabul

A suspected suicide bomber blew himself up in front of an educational center in a mainly Shi'ite area in the west of the Afghan capital Kabul on Wednesday, killing at least 25 people, officials said.…

Newly elected Mexican Congresswoman kidnapped

A newly elected Mexican Congresswoman, Norma Azucena Rodr?guez Zamora, has been kidnapped at gunpoint on a highway in central Hidalgo state.Two men shot at Ms Rodr?guez's car, injuring an assistant a…

Floods close airport in Indian tourist hotspot of Kerala

Flights in and out of the Indian tourist hotspot of Kerala were cancelled for three days Wednesday as severe monsoon flooding ravaged the region.At least 39 people have been killed in the past three …

Taliban attack on Afghan military outpost kills dozens

A Taliban attack on a military outpost in Afghanistan's northern province of Baghlan on Wednesday killed up to 44 Afghan police and soldiers, provincial officials said, as the insurgents kept up pres…

Turkey rejects new appeal to free detained US pastor

A Turkish court on Wednesday rejected a new appeal to free US pastor Andrew Brunson, whose detention has sparked a severe crisis in relations between Turkey and the United States, local media reporte…

Israel reopens its only goods crossing with Gaza: officials

Israel allowed commercial goods back into the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, in a sign of an easing of tensions as neighboring Egypt pursued a long-term ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian …

Patients and Staff evacuated at Spanish hospital following fire incident

More than 100 patients and workers were evacuated from a hospital in the Canary Islands on Monday night after a fire caused by the relative of a person who was receiving treatment there, the regional…