AFP, BUJUMBURA, Burundi: Vote counting was underway in Burundi yesterday, the day after a presidential election marred by violence and international condemnation that is expected to see incumbent Pierre Nkurunziza win a controversial third term. Results from the polls, which has been condemned as illegitimate…

AFP, DENPASAR, Indonesia: Ash spewing from a volcano closed the airport on the Indonesian resort island of Bali yesterday for the third time this month, forcing the cancellation of flights and stranding tourists during peak holiday season. Mount Raung on Indonesia’s main island of Java, which…

AFP MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan: A suicide bomber killed 15 people including women and children in a northern Afghan market yesterday, as militants intensify their annual summer offensive despite nascent peace talks. The attack in Almar district of Faryab province, bordering Turkmenistan, highlights…

AFP, WASHINGTON: A US-led coalition air strike earlier this month killed the leader of an Al-Qaeda offshoot in Syria that American officials accuse of plotting attacks against the US and its allies, the Pentagon said. Muhsin al-Fadhli was killed in a “kinetic strike” on July 8 while traveling…

AFP, NABLUS, Palestinian Territories: Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian near the city of Jenin in the northern West Bank yesterday in clashes following an arrest raid, medical and security sources said. The shooting came after weeks of low-level violence in the occupied Palestinian territories,…

AFP, JEDDAH: US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter landed in Saudi Arabia yesterday as part of a regional tour aimed at reassuring Washington’s allies over a nuclear deal with Iran. Carter is to hold talks with King Salman in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, where the kingdom’s rulers base themselves…

AFP, COLOMBO: The Maldives parliament has sacked the country’s vice-president and accused him of treason, as international concern mounts over the state of democracy on the honeymoon islands. Lawmakers voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday evening to oust Mohamed Jameel, who was the running mate of…

AFP, WASHINGTON: Texan authorities released footage Tuesday showing a white police officer, during a routine traffic stop, argue with and arrest an unarmed black woman who later died in jail. The death of 28-year-old Sandra Bland is being investigated as possible suspicious, after authorities initially…