AFP, CHENNAI, India: The chief minister of India’s Tamil Nadu state on Wednesday refused to give way to his anointed successor, threatening to plunge…

More than 500 members of one Chinese family have posed for the ultimate family photo. The pictures were taken at a Ren family reunion at Shishe village…

AFP, BUCHAREST: Romania’s embattled premier Sorin Grindeanu sought Wednesday to quell nationwide unrest over his government’s attempt to weaken corruption laws with a speech to MPs ahead of a no-confidence vote. “We have a duty to the people who gave us their trust during the election…

AFP, KABUL: Six Red Cross workers have been killed and two others are missing in northern Afghanistan, the international charity said Wednesday, underscoring the growing dangers faced by aid workers in the war-battered country. They were killed in the volatile province of Jowzjan, the charity added,…

AFP, AMMAN: Jordan said Wednesday it would not invite Syria to an Arab summit next month, five years after the bloc suspended Damascus over a harsh crackdown against protesters. Jordan is set to host the Arab League’s annual summit near the Dead Sea on March 29. “How the invitations are…

AFP, BAMAKO: A Colombian nun has been kidnapped by gunmen in southern Mali, a Malian security source and a local official said Wednesday. The woman was kidnapped late Tuesday near Koutiala, a city some 400 kilometres (250 miles) east of the capital, Bamako, which is in the Sikasso region near the Burkina…

AFP, DAMASCUS: Syria’s justice ministry on Wednesday dismissed as “completely false” an Amnesty International report alleging up to 13,000 people were hanged over five years in a Syrian government prison. The ministry said the Amnesty report was “completely untrue and intended…

AFP, EDINBURGH: The battle over Scotland’s constitutional future is now “a virtual dead heat” with support rising for independence as Britain prepares to leave the European Union, according to a new poll released Wednesday. Support has risen to 49 percent, excluding undecided voters,…

AFP, MOGADISHU: Somali lawmakers were choosing a president under tight security Wednesday, with roads closed and residents urged to remain indoors over fears of a strike on the capital by Shabaab militants. Mortar fire hit several neighbourhoods of Mogadishu and fighting broke out between the extremists…