AFP, LUXEMBOURG: EU foreign ministers formally approved yesterday the launch of the first phase of a military operation to target people smugglers in the Mediterranean, officials said. The initial ships and aircraft to conduct intelligence gathering missions should be available within a week, officials…

French drug convict loses plea AFP, JAKARTA: A French drug convict lost an appeal against his death sentence yesterday, but his lawyers vowed to fight on and prevent another foreigner from facing the firing squad in Indonesia after a series of executions that generated an international uproar. Serge…

AFP, SRINAGAR, India: Two suspected rebels and a civilian were killed in a gun battle in Indian Kashmir that lasted more than 15 hours, police said yesterday. The shooting began Sunday when government forces cordoned off a village on a tip-off that armed militants were hiding there. "Both the militants…

AFP, LUXEMBOURG: EU foreign ministers formally agreed yesterday to prolong to January 2016 damaging economic sanctions against Russia to ensure it fully implements Ukraine peace accords, officials said. "EU has extended economic sanctions against Russia until 31 January 2016, with a view to complete…

AFP, ISTANBUL: Hundreds of refugees who fled fighting in the Syrian town of Tal Abyad to Turkey were returning home on Monday after a border gate reopened, a Turkish official said. Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia ousted Islamic State (IS) jihadists from Tal Abyad after fighting that…

AFP,CHARLESTON: The historic black South Carolina church where a white gunman murdered nine African Americans held its first service since the massacre on Sunday, an emotional gathering celebrating the lives of those slain. Several hundred congregants, some tearful, packed the Emanuel African American…

AFP, TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged yesterday to improve ties with South Korea after years of strain over history and territory, as the two countries held low-key celebrations of 50 years of diplomatic ties. "I hope to meet President Park Geun-Hye for the people of both countries...and…

AFP,  LUXEMBOURG: Britain on Monday urged Iran to show more flexibility in talks on its contested nuclear programme as an end-June deadline looms after years of tortuous negotiations with the West. "There will need to be some more flexibility shown by our Iranian partners if we are going to…