The United States and Taiwan have started formal negotiations on a bilateral trade initiative to deepen economic ties, in a move likely to inflame already high tensions with China. The first round of trade talks is set to take place early this autumn, the Office of the US Trade

Algerian firefighters on Thursday battled a string of fires, fueled by drought and a scorching heat wave that has killed at least 38 people and left devastation in its wake. Deadly wildfires have become an annual scourge in the North African country, where climate change is turning

Chinese troops will travel to Russia to take part in joint military exercises led by the host and including India, Belarus, Mongolia, Tajikistan and other countries, China’s defense ministry said Wednesday. China’s participation in the joint exercises was “unrelated

A huge explosion struck a mosque in Kabul during evening prayers on Wednesday (Aug 17), witnesses and police said, with many feared dead or injured. Police said there were multiple casualties but did not say how many. One Taliban intelligence official told Reuters that as many as 35

North Korea has fired two cruise missiles into the sea, according to South Korean officials, in Pyongyang’s first weapons test in weeks. “Early this morning, we detected that North Korea fired two cruise missiles into the West Sea from Onchon, South Pyongan province,”

US President Joe Biden has signed a $700bn (£579bn) bill that aims to fight climate change and healthcare costs while raising taxes mainly on the rich. The act includes measures to make good on decades of congressional promises to curb the price of prescription drugs. The

US congressional visits to Taiwan are inflaming regional tensions, and the Biden administration shouldn't underestimate China's resolve on the issue, Beijing's envoy to Washington said on Tuesday (Aug 16). Ambassador Qin Gang rejected US officials' argument that

Israel has confirmed that its air force was responsible for the killing of five children on the last day of its attacks on Gaza earlier this month. Days after denying Israeli involvement in the deadly strike on Gaza that left five children dead, Israeli officials conducted an

At least 20 people were killed and six injured when a passenger bus collided with an oil tanker on the Multan-Sukkur Motorway (M-5) in the early hours of Tuesday, officials said. Multan Deputy Commissioner Tahir Wattoo confirmed the incident in a statement, saying that the passenger

Pfizer Inc. Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla said he tested positive for Covid-19 and is receiving Paxlovid, the treatment made by his company, Bloomberg reported. Bourla said he’s feeling well although experiencing very mild symptoms, according to a statement Monday.

The US Department of Justice says releasing details about the warrant used to raid Donald Trump's Florida home last week could cause "irreparable damage" to its investigation. It wants to keep the affidavit, a court document showing the evidence needed to obtain the

Scuffles, allegations of vote rigging and division among members of the electoral commission have thrown the much-awaited announcement of the results of Kenya's presidential election into doubt. The result was to be announced earlier but was postponed without explanation. Deputy

Oil prices slumped more than 5% today on the rising prospects of a return of Iranian oil to the market and data showing China’s economic recovery stuttering under Covid-19 restrictions and a slumping property sector. Stock markets drifted lower and the dollar traded mixed as

Kuwait has appointed an ambassador to Iran, both countries said on Sunday, more than six years after recalling its top envoy to Tehran in solidarity with Saudi Arabia after it severed ties with the Islamic Republic in 2016. Ambassador Bader Abdu­llah Al-Munaikh handed his

When you arrive at Kabul International Airport, the first thing you notice is the women, clothed in brown scarves and black cloaks, stamping passports. An airfield, which one year ago was the scene of a panicked tide of people desperate to escape, is now much quieter and cleaner. Rows

Russia has vowed to "expand [its] comprehensive and constructive bilateral relations" with North Korea, said its President Vladimir Putin. In a letter sent to his counterpart Kim Jong un on Pyongyang's liberation day, Mr Putin said the move would be in both countries'

Dozens of people have died after a fire broke out at a church in Egypt, many of them crushed during a desperate scramble to escape. Officials say the number of dead is at least 41, with dozens injured. Children are believed to be among the dead. An electrical fire broke out as 5,000

Author Salman Rushdie has been taken off a ventilator and is able to talk again, a day after being stabbed. Mr Rushdie, 75, was attacked while speaking at an event in New York state and was in a critical condition. His agent, Andrew Wylie, confirmed the news to US media, but had

A gunman has opened fire at a bus near Jerusalem’s Old City, wounding at least eight people, two of them critically, according to medics and the Israeli police. The attack took place in the early hours of Sunday, as the bus carrying Israelis waited in a parking lot near the

Taliban fighters have dispersed dozens of female protesters in Kabul, almost a year after the militant group seized power. About 40 women marched through the Afghan capital demanding rights, before the Taliban broke it up by firing into the air. The fighters seized their mobile