AFP, BEIRUT: Internet cafes closed down, travel bans and new checkpoints: residents say jihadists are trying to tighten their grip on power in Raqa as US-backed forces near the Islamic State group’s Syrian bastion. A Kurdish-Arab alliance called the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) began an operation…

AFP, TEHRAN: Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that the result of the US election made “no difference” to the Islamic republic despite president-elect Donald Trump’s aggressive stance. “We have no judgement on this election because America is the same America,”…

AFP, KABUL: A suicide bomber on foot struck a government vehicle in Kabul Wednesday, killing at least six people and wounding 11 others, officials said, in the latest attack in the Afghan capital. No insurgent group has so far claimed responsibility for the bombing during morning rush hour, which comes…

AFP, MANILA: Filipino and US troops began training exercises this week, the Philippines military said Wednesday, despite President Rodrigo Duterte’s threats to end joint war games and kick American soldiers out of his country as he edges closer to Beijing. Duterte has called for the withdrawal…

AFP, WASHINGTON: A mayor from West Virginia has resigned amid a furor over a racist Facebook post that described First Lady Michelle Obama as an “ape…

AFP, ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top foreign affairs official has said he plans to visit India next month for a regional conference, the first high-profile visit since tensions spiralled between the arch-rivals after a deadly attack on an Indian army base. Sartaj Aziz, adviser to Pakistan’s prime…

AFP, NEW DELHI: India’s Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj said Wednesday that she is being treated for kidney failure and undergoing tests for a possible…

AFP, LONDON: The BBC will launch a radio and online news service for audiences in North Korea as it seeks to expand its global reach to 500 million people by 2022, the British broadcaster said Wednesday. The ambitious plan will see the BBC create radio programmes as well as online and social media content…