AFP, SAN FRANCISCO: A California judge on Wednesday ruled against a woman locked in a bitter dispute with her ex-husband to use frozen embryos over his objections, in a closely watched case. San Francisco Superior Court Judge Anne-Christine Massullo based her decision on an agreement Mimi Lee and Stephen…

AFP, PARIS: Prime Minister Manuel Valls warned Thursday of the danger of an attack in France using “chemical or biological weapons”, in a speech to lawmakers debating the extension of a state of emergency. “We must not rule anything out,” Valls said. “There is also the…

AFP, BEIRUT: Syria’s army and rebels pursued talks to reach a 15-day ceasefire in a rebel stronghold east of Damascus Thursday as fighting subsided in the area, a monitor and security sources said. The two sides had been locked in talks overnight in the hopes of reaching a ceasefire deal by 6:00…

AFP, TEHRAN: Iran has called for all sides in Yemen’s war to join UN-sponsored peace talks and accused Saudi Arabia of worsening the conflict with its military intervention against Tehran-backed rebels. In talks with visiting UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed on Wednesday, Iranian officials including…

AFP, BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel marks a decade in power Sunday facing the fight of her political life over her liberal stance on refugees, which provoked a party revolt, and fresh fears sparked by the Paris carnage. In what just a few months ago would have been an unreserved celebration…

AFP, BEIJING: The death toll from a landslide triggered by flooding in China rose to 38 Thursday, with no more missing, officials and state-run media said. An avalanche of mud and rock caused by torrential rains engulfed 27 homes last Friday in Lishui in the eastern province of Zhejiang, reports said.…