SYDNEY: Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, a rare female voice in the Australian government, said yesterday she was quitting the frontbench after a failed tilt at the nation’s top job during a messy party-room coup, reports AFP. The deputy chief of the Liberal Party, Bishop had put her hand up to…

WASHINGTON: John McCain, a war hero and towering figure in US politics known for reaching across the aisle in an increasingly divided nation, died on…

KNOCK: Pope Francis in Ireland yesterday “begged for God’s forgiveness” for the child sexual abuse scandal rocking the church but faced…

KABUL: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani yesterday rejected the resignations of the intelligence chief and the interior and defence ministers, as the government faces fierce criticism over an increasingly deadly insurgency, reports AFP. Ghani called on Defence Minister Tariq Shah Bahrami, Interior Minister…

TOKYO: Shinzo Abe confirmed yesterday he would run in his ruling party’s leadership election, putting him on track to become Japan’s longest-serving premier and bolstering his dream of reforming the constitution, reports AFP. Abe is expected to be re-elected head of the conservative Liberal…

CHERKESSK: The body of woman, who died 31 years ago while climbing Mount Elbrus in Russia’s North Caucasus, was found on the slopes of Europe’s highest mountain, regional rescue authorities said on Saturday, reports TASS. “The woman’s body was found by a group of tourists at…

SOFIA: At least 16 people were killed and five gravely injured when a tourist bus flipped over and plunged down a steep slope in Bulgaria, Interior Minister Valentin Radov said, reports TASS. Five people were in extremely grave condition, the minister said without giving further details. Earlier, Bulgarian…

ROME: Nearly 140 migrants who had been stranded on a boat at a port in Sicily were allowed to disembark early on Sunday after Ireland and Albania agreed to take some of them in, reports AFP. The boat had docked at Catania port on Monday but Italy had refused to let those on board disembark in absence…