WASHINGTON: The United States and North Korea have been holding secret, direct talks to prepare for a summit between President Donald Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un, a sign that planning for the highly anticipated meeting is progressing, several administration officials familiar with the discussions…

MOSCOW: As Vladimir Putin starts his fourth Kremlin term, authorities are turning up the heat on popular websites and apps ostensibly to fight terrorism but analysts say the real motive is to muzzle critics, reports AFP. A move this week to block the strongly encrypted messenger Telegram, less than…

JAKARTA: Eleven Indonesians died yesterday and several others are critically ill after drinking bootleg liquor, police said, days after the death of 24 others from illicit alcohol, reports AFP. The latest victims were among 27 people admitted to hospital after sampling homemade alcoholic drinks in Cicalengka…

CURITIBA: Leftist icon Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva spent yesterday as Brazil's first ex-president to be imprisoned for a common crime -- and his cell…

NEW YORK: An elderly man died late Saturday and four firefighters were injured after a blaze erupted on the 50th floor of Trump Tower in New York, officials said, reports AFP. The New York Police Department said 67-year-old Todd Brassner was found "unconscious and unresponsive" when officers…

LONDON: A century-long mystery over the identity of a 4,000-year-old Egyptian mummy has finally been solved by the FBI, reports CNN. Since 1915, scientists…

Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said yesterday there were "no naive people" in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip after days of protests and…