AFP, CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi swore in a new government on Saturday that included 16 new ministers, a week after the previous administration resigned following a corruption scandal. Sharif Ismail, who served as petroleum minister in the last cabinet, was sworn in as prime minister…

AFP, LONDON: US Secretary of State John Kerry said Saturday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must step down, but not necessarily immediately upon reaching a settlement to end the country’s civil war. Speaking after talks in London with British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, Kerry said…

AFP, ROME: Eight rescue operations Saturday picked up more than 2,200 people off the Libyan coast, according to the Italian coastguard, which was coordinating the response for 10 other boats in distress in the Mediterranean. The eight operations took place between 30 and 40 nautical miles off the Libyan…

AFP, PESHAWAR, Pakistan: Twenty-two suspects have been detained in connection with a deadly attack on a Pakistan air force base claimed by the Taliban, officials said Saturday. Pakistani Taliban militants dressed in official uniforms attacked the air force base near the northwestern city of Peshawar…

AFP, JERUSALEM: Palestinians clashed Friday with Israeli security forces in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank after the Islamist movement Hamas called…

AFP, MOGADISHU: Twelve Somali government soldiers have been killed in an attack by Al-Qaeda-affiliated Shebab militants, officials and witnesses said Saturday. The attack occurred early Friday at a military base in the Yaq-Bariweyne area about 100 kilometres (65 miles) south of the capital Mogadishu.…