AFP, MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called for Russian intelligence agencies to bolster ties with their US counterparts in the fight against terrorism. “Restoring dialogue with the special services of the United States and other NATO members is in our mutual interest,” Putin…

AFP, JERUSALEM: US President Donald Trump’s shelving of the decades-long goal of a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict has excited Israelis…

AFP, TEHRAN: Iran said Thursday that Israel’s atomic arsenal is the biggest danger to world peace, a day after US President Donald Trump vowed to prevent Iran developing a nuclear weapon. Israel is the “biggest threat to the peace and security in the region and the world,” Foreign…

Sasikala’s nominee Edappadi Palaniswami was sworn in as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu along with his cabinet after being invited by the governor…

AFP, ASTANA, Kazakhstan: Representatives from the Syrian government and rebel groups held fresh talks on Thursday with key powerbrokers Russia, Turkey and Iran aimed at shoring up a fragile ceasefire. The meeting is the second time key players Moscow, Ankara and Tehran have brought the warring sides…

AFP, KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will return the body of the half-brother of North Korea’s leader, the country’s deputy prime minister said Thursday, as police probing the airport assassination quizzed three suspects. South Korea says female agents working for Pyongyang poisoned Kim Jong-Nam…

AFP, WELLINGTON: A wildfire destroyed at least 11 homes and forced hundreds of terrified residents to evacuate in the New Zealand city of Christchurch, authorities said Thursday. Civil defence officials declared a state of emergency in the South Island city late Wednesday as two blazes that had been…