AFP, BRUSSELS: With the world still reeling from images of a drowned Syrian boy, European authorities say it is their top priority to fight an army of an estimated 30,000 people-smuggling suspects blamed for such tragedies. Officials say the deadly business that may be worth billions of dollars is preying…

AFP, ISLAMABAD: Pakistan yesterday marked the 50th anniversary of its second war with arch-rival India, weeks after the two nuclear powers faced off in some of their deadliest skirmishes for over a decade. The major fighting of the war took place between August and September 1965, with both sides claiming…

AFP, MANDALAY, Myanmar: With a smile, Myanmar’s most notorious Buddhist monk boasts of the sleepless nights he endures on his self-appointed quest against the country’s Muslims—one that he claims has helped strip voting rights from hundreds of thousands of the religious minority. Wirathu,…

AFP, PARIS: France is considering air strikes against Islamic State (IS) jihadists in Syria, in what would be a reversal of its current position, Le Monde daily said on Saturday. Neither the French presidency, the foreign ministry nor the defence ministry would comment on the report, with officials…

AFP, PORT MORESBY: Vulnerable Pacific island nations will this week send the world an urgent plea for action on climate change at crunch talks in Paris later this year. Some Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) countries lie barely a metre (three feet) above sea level and fear they will disappear beneath the…

AFP, SANAA: Powerful explosions shook the Yemeni capital yesterday, witnesses said, after the Saudi-led coalition vowed to press its air war following a rebel missile strike that killed dozens of Gulf soldiers. The witnesses said the coalition warplanes pounded positions of the Iran-backed Shiite Huthi…