The small thatched hut in western Nepal has no walls to keep out the cold. Inside is a raised platform where Pabitra Giri sleeps during her period, banished from her home by a centuries-old Hindu ritual, reports AFP. Below the hut, known as a chhau goth, Giri lights a small fire to keep her warm. The…

ADEN: US fighter jets pounded Al-Qaeda targets in Yemen for a second straight day on Friday, killing eight militants, security and tribal sources said, as Washington steps up its air war against the jihadists, reports AFP. The Pentagon said it had carried out more than 20 strikes on Thursday targeting…

Britain's Prince William and his wife Kate are due to make an official visit to Germany and Poland in July, Kensington Palace announced yesterday, reports AFP. The visit, at the request of the Foreign Office, comes a few months after Britain is due to start the formal process for leaving the the…

ACAPULCO, Mexico: A Mexican journalist was shot and killed Thursday in the country’s violent Guerrero state, regional authorities said, reports AFP. “I regret to confirm the homicide of journalist Cecilio Pineda,” said Roberto Alvarez, a spokesman for the state’s security department,…

MOSCOW:  Senior Russian and NATO military chiefs on Friday held their first phone talks since ties between the two sides collapsed over the crisis in Ukraine, the defence ministry in Moscow said, reports AFP. The chairman of the NATO Military Committee Petr Pavel called Russia’s chief of…

BERLIN: German police Friday lifted a bomb alert in a town which had received a threat after cancelling a rally by Turkey’s justice minister to promote expanding President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s powers, reports AFP. “We received a bomb threat by phone at around 7:30 am (0630 GMT),”…

HARARE: At least 246 people have been killed by floods in Zimbabwe since December, state media reported Friday, as the government launched an appeal for foreign aid, reports AFP. The Herald newspaper said at least 128 people had been injured, 2,000 left homeless, 74 schools damaged and 70 dams had burst…