AFP, DAMASCUS: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has ruled out a truce with rebels in an area near Damascus which supplies the capital with its water needs, in an interview aired Monday. Millions of people have been without water for weeks after fighting damaged key infrastructure in the Wadi Barada…

Iran began three days of mourning yesterday after the death of ex-president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a pillar of the Islamic revolution who became a leading counterweight to hardliners, reports AFP from Tehran. Tributes poured in for the moderate cleric, including from President Hassan Rouhani, who…

AFP, MOSCOW: The Kremlin on Monday slammed a hacking report by US intelligence as baseless and amateurish, saying Moscow is growing tired of denying the Russian government’s involvement in US election meddling. “These are baseless allegations substantiated with nothing, done on a rather…

AFP, KANO: At least five soldiers were killed in a surprise weekend attack by Boko Haram Islamists on a military base in northeast Nigeria, senior officers told AFP on Monday. A group of Boko Haram fighters launched an attack on the army facility in the town of Buni Yadi at dusk Saturday, leading to…

AFP, MOSUL, Iraq: A small white drone hummed into sight and Thaker, a member of Iraq’s special forces, grabbed his machinegun and started lighting…

AFP, LONDON: Millions of Londoners endured a chaotic start to the week on Monday after a strike shut down most of the Underground network, including many city centre stations. Clapham Junction, a major transport hub in the south of the capital, had to be evacuated in the morning rush hour due to overcrowding…