AFP, BUDAPEST: Hungary’s far-right says it no longer wants to leave the European Union as the migration crisis is offering populist parties, in resurgence across the continent, a chance to “transform” the bloc. “The EU will change over the next five to 10 years and for the first…

AFP, PARIS: Flooding in central Paris has swelled the Seine river by 6.0 metres (20 feet) with a peak of up to 6.50 metres expected later, the French environment ministry said Friday. “The high-water level in Paris is expected tonight at around 6.30 metres (above its normal level), perhaps 6.50…

AFP, PARIS: French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault warned Friday that hopes of a two-state solution in the Israel-Palestinian conflict were in “serious danger” without a peace process on the table. Ayrault, who hosted an international meeting in Paris in a bid to revive the moribund peace…

AFP, ALEPPO, Syria: Regime air strikes killed dozens of civilians in the Syrian city of Aleppo and nearby areas Friday as the UN Security Council prepared to discuss emergency aid drops to besieged areas. The raids were the most intense in more than a week, with dozens of barrel bombs—crude, unguided…

AFP, TEHRAN: Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei lashed out Friday at the United States, Britain and Israel as the Islamic republic’s “main enemies”, accusing Washington of procrastinating over Tehran’s landmark nuclear deal. “It’s the US, the evil…

AFP, TOKYO: A seven-year-old Japanese boy was found alive on Friday nearly a week after his parents left him in a bear-inhabited forest as punishment for misbehaving, hungry but unharmed in a hut on a military base. A soldier discovered Yamato Tanooka who had apparently walked some 5.5 kilometres (3.4…

AFP, QUETTA, Pakistan: A Pakistani father of 35 is now searching for a fourth wife as he romps towards his goal of 100 children, a dubious ambition in…