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Assad regime on ‘last legs’, says new opposition chief

The Syrian opposition’s new leader said on Sunday that President Bashar al-Assad’s regime was on its ‘last legs,’ even as Russia warned it would block any move at the UN to use force against its ally. Full story

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Turkey’s Islamic stance irks EU diplomats

European Union diplomats are expressing growing concern at what they see as the increasingly fundamentalist stance taken by Turkey’s ruling Islamists. They accuse Ankara of using probes into alleged plots against the ... Full story

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Venezuela honours Bolivar with giant mausoleum

The remains of Latin American independence hero Simon Bolivar will soon be moved to a modern structure in Caracas that towers over nearby buildings like an enormous ship’s sail. Full story

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Thousands flee after deadly Ivory Coast attacks

Thousands of civilians in Ivory Coast have fled their homes after seven UN peacekeepers and eight civilians were killed in raids near the Liberian border, a UN official and residents said. Full story

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13 killed in Libya clashes

Thirteen people were killed in a second day of clashes between Libyan soldiers and tribesmen in the remote southeast, a security official said, highlighting the challenges the new government still faces in imposing its authority. Full story

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Storm hits Ukraine parachute jump, 5 killed

Five people were killed and 13 others injured in Ukraine on Sunday when a storm forced an aircraft carrying parachutists to make an emergency landing, the emergencies ministry said. Full story

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Saudi peddler beheaded

A Saudi man was beheaded by the sword on Sunday after being convicted of drug trafficking, the interior ministry said. Ahmed bin Ali Hamdi had been arrested after taking delivery... Full story

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Minister flies to Afghanistan after French deaths

France’s defence minister is due to travel to Afghanistan on Sunday hours after an attack that killed four French soldiers and an announcement that the nation would begin withdrawing troops in July. Full story

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Afghan people mourn deaths in NATO strike

Schools in an Afghan district where a NATO air strike killed 18 civilians remain closed for three days to mourn the dead. The civilians died in an operation on Wednesday... Full story

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All 14 killed in Peru helicopter crash

All 14 people aboard a helicopter that vanished days ago were found dead Saturday when climbers reached the crash site high in the Peruvian Andes, officials said. Full story

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Kenya minister killed in copter crash

Kenya’s Internal Security Minister George Saitoti was killed Sunday along with five others in a police helicopter crash near Nairobi, officials said. Saitoti, 66, was a candidate in next year’s presidential election and... Full story

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West pursuing beyond NPT, IAEA norms: Iran official

The West is ‘pursuing its own aims that go beyond the (nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) regulations and the agency, and which do not fall within the IAEA’s remit,’ a top Iranian military official said on Sunday, according to the Mehr news agency. Full story

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France Left eyes control of parliament

France voted on Sunday in the first round of an election tipped to give the left control of parliament and consolidate President Francois Hollande’s grip on power as he seeks to ease the pain of a debt crisis in Europe. Full story

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Chavez says tests show him in good health

The Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez said on Saturday medical tests following his cancer treatment show he is in good health, but provided few additional details about an illness that has become an obsession in the OPEC nation. Full story

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Israel must free prisoners before dialogue: Abbas

The Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said Saturday he is ready for a dialogue with Israel if it frees Palestinian prisoners taken before the 1993 Oslo peace accord. Full story

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ICC lawyer detained in Libya

A delegation for the International Criminal Court has been detained in Libya after one of its lawyers was found to be carrying suspicious documents for Muammar Gaddafi’s captured son, a Libyan lawyer and a militia said on Saturday. Full story

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Two stabbed to death in Japan street

A man killed two people in a frenzied stabbing attack in the Japanese city of Osaka in broad daylight on Sunday, a report said, in a country where violent crime is rare. Full story

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12 dead in Egypt tribal fighting

A gunfight during the fight between two tribes in Egypt’s south has killed 12 people, a police official said on Sunday. The official said the battle in the southern Aswan... Full story

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