AFP, UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council will hold a meeting this month to discuss human rights violations in North Korea, only the second such session, the US mission to the United Nations said Thursday. Nine Security Council members including Britain, France and the United States called for the…

AFP, BRUSSELS: EU states led by France pushed Friday for the urgent sharing of air passenger name information in a bid to trace potential extremists and prevent a repeat of the Paris attacks. The European Parliament is showing increasing support for the US-backed data sharing system after years of blocking…

AFP, MOSCOW: Russian prosecutors on Friday declared a US government-funded foundation an “undesirable” organisation, the fourth entity to be banned under a controversial law targeting foreign groups accused of political meddling in the country. The US Russia Foundation for Economic Advancement…

AFP, DUBAI: Hundreds of Saudi Shiites rallied in the east of the kingdom on Friday to support activists whose execution they fear could be imminent, a witness said. It was the second Friday in a row that a mass gathering had been held in solidarity with Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr and other death row…

AFP, SAN BERNARDINO, United States: Members of the Arab and Muslim communities in the United States said Thursday they feared a backlash, as details emerged…

AFP, TOKYO: Japan and the US vowed Friday to press ahead with the construction of a new air base on strategic Okinawa, and pledged to speed up the return of some land on the island where pacifist sentiment runs high. The announcement came just two days after Tokyo pressured Okinawa in court to try and…