AFP, LONDON: Britain said Saturday it was sending more troops to Iraq to bolster its mission training up the armed forces taking on the Islamic State jihadist group. Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said a further 30 troops would be deployed to provide training in logistics and bridge-building, as well…

AFP, GAZA CITY: Israeli planes struck Hamas bases in the Gaza Strip early Saturday, killing a child living near one of the targets and injuring his sister, Gaza health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said. Yasin Abu Khussa, 10, died in a raid on a base of the group’s military wing, the Ezzedine…

AFP, UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution that calls for the repatriation of entire peacekeeping units whose soldiers face allegations of sexual abuse while serving under the UN flag. It was the first time that the council has approved measures to address the rise in…

AFP, CAIRO: The Arab League on Friday declared Iran ally Hezbollah a “terrorist” group, after Gulf monarchies adopted the same stance over the Lebanese Shiite movement’s support for the regime in Syria’s war. The move reflects the worsening tensions between Shiite Iran and the…

AFP, UNITED NATIONS: The United States has asked the UN Security Council to discuss Iran’s recent ballistic missile launches during a meeting on Monday, the US ambassador said. The United States is “deeply concerned” about the missile tests “which are provocative and destabilizing,”…

AFP, PARIS: Europe and Russia are set to launch an unmanned spacecraft Monday to smell Mars’ atmosphere for gassy evidence that life once existed on the Red Planet, or may do so still. ExoMars 2016, the first of a two-phase Mars exploration, will see an orbiter hoisted from Kazakhstan at 0931…

AFP, SEOUL: A North Korean submarine is missing, reports said Saturday, as the reclusive state issued a fresh threat of retaliation against US and South Korean forces involved in joint military drills. The unknown class of vessel had been reportedly operating off the North Korean coast earlier in the…