A Taliban-claimed attack on the top US commander in Afghanistan and senior Afghan security officials Thursday killed at least three people and sent the government scrambling to secure the country's restive south.There are fears the attack in the southern province of Kandahar could derail US efforts to engage the group in peace talks and parliamentary elections scheduled for October 20. (AFP)US and NATO commander General Scott Miller was not hurt in the attack inside a heavily fortified governmen

European leaders sought to build support from Asia Thursday in defence of free trade and the fight against climate change, to counter the growing protectionism of President Donald Trump's America.The 28 EU states were joined at a summit in Brussels by more than 20 Asian leaders including Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Japan's Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. (AFP)Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is also attending, despite tensions over Moscow's alleged cyber attacks on inte

At the Indian temple that is the focus of a battle over gender equality, Hindu hardliners are in festive mood, successful -- so far -- in their bid to keep women out.A supreme court decision to end a ban on women of "menstruating age" -- those between 10 and 50 years -- at the Sabarimala Temple in Kerala has sparked violent demonstrations on the roads leading to the site. (AFP)Traditionalists have threatened women trying to get to the complex and have clashed with police officers sent to enforce

Eighteen people died and dozens more were wounded, mostly teenagers, Wednesday when a student opened fire at a college in Russian-annexed Crimea.Speaking to journalists and parents of missing students in the city of Kerch, where the shooting took place, Crimean leader Sergei Aksyonov said the death toll stood at 18 plus the killer. (AP)He added that 53 people were injured in the attack. 12 of whom were in an extremely serious condition.Russia's Investigative Committee named the shooter as 18-yea

MOSCOW - Thirteen people were killed and 50 more wounded on Wednesday, most of them teenagers, after a blast tore into a college canteen in Russian-annexed Crimea in what Moscow called a "terrorist" attack.Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes major incidents, said it had "opened a criminal case into a terrorist attack" after an "unidentified explosive device" went off in the polytechnical college in Kerch city. A rescuer carries an injured victim of a blast at at a college in the city

BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday that there was "still a chance" for an accord with Britain to leave the EU but that Berlin was preparing for a no-deal Brexit. German chancellor Angela Merkel arrives for a session of the German parliament ahead of an EU summit focused on Brexit, on October 17, 2018 in Berlin. (AFP)"There is still a chance to achieve a good and sustainable exit accord," Merkel told parliament ahead of a crunch EU summit in Brussels that will focus on Brexit

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) -- Billionaire Paul Allen, who founded US software giant Microsoft with Bill Gates in the 1970s, died Monday after his latest battle with cancer. He was 65."My brother was a remarkable individual on every level. While most knew Paul Allen as a technologist and philanthropist, for us he was a much loved brother and uncle, and an exceptional friend," Allen's sister Jody said in a statement."Paul's family and friends were blessed to experience his wit, warmth, his generosity and

 IMMINGHAM, United Kingdom (AFP) -- Brexit has brought hope to the windswept docks of the Humber River, a key goods gateway in northeast England where tens of millions of pounds are being invested to prepare for a potential increase in shipping.In Immingham, a gritty town of around 11,000 inhabitants in the shadow of the sprawling port and oil refineries, former dock worker Willie Weir said business was already "picking up". (AFP)"I think we'll end up a very rich country," the 54-year-old, who n

SYDNEY (AFP) -- Prince Harry and Meghan touched down in Sydney on Monday, kicking off a bumper Pacific tour that is the British royals' first major outing abroad as a couple.The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived in a wet and wintery Australia after a weekend spent celebrating the marriage of their relative Princess Eugenie to a wine merchant. Prince Harry and Meghan are set to visit Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand on their first major trip abroad as a couple (AFP)The more than two week o

PANAMA CITY (AFP) -- Three days after Hurricane Michael's devastating strike, search teams in Florida pressed their hunt for victims into hard-to-reach areas Saturday (October 13), as the death toll rose to 17 and officials scrambled to deliver aid to those who lost everything.The mammoth storm, which made landfall as a Category 4 storm on Wednesday, claimed lives in four states, but Florida suffered the worst damage by far. (AFP)Large parts of the state's panhandle were pulverised by the strong

KATHMANDU (AFP) -- At least eight climbers from a South Korean expedition have died on Nepal's Mount Gurja after their camp was devastated by a violent snowstorm, officials said Saturday.The bodies of eight climbers -- four South Koreans and four Nepali guides -- were spotted among the wreckage of their camp by a rescue team early Saturday morning, but unstable and icy conditions were hampering the search effort."We assume the incident happened because of a snowstorm as trees are broken. Even th

HANOI (AFP) -- Vietnam on Friday jailed a blogger who posted critical material on Facebook for five years, his second sentence in less than a month as a hardline administration tightens its grip on dissent.　More than 50 activists, rights campaigners and bloggers have been put behind bars in 2018, in one of the harshest crackdowns in years. 　Observers say a conservative administration in charge since 2016 is behind the sweeping campaign, which shows few signs of easing. Vietnam`s Prime Minister N

LONDON (AFP) -- Queen Elizabeth II‘s granddaughter Princess Eugenie married a wine merchant on Friday in a Windsor wedding clouded by complaints over costs and struggling to recapture the magic of past royal nuptials.　The big day for the ninth in line to the throne and Jack Brooksbank -- a “commoner” with blue-blood friends -- comes on the heels of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s fairytale service in May.　That event was watched by adoring masses and followed by months of fawning UK headlines ab

NEW YORK (AFP) -- Wall Street stocks plummeted Wednesday amid worries about surging US interest rates and the impact of trade disputes, as President Donald Trump blamed the Federal Reserve, saying it had "gone crazy."US shares suffered a broad-based selloff that slashed more than three percent from major indices."I think the Fed is making a mistake. It's so tight. I think the Fed has gone crazy," Trump told reporters shortly after markets closed, as he arrived in Erie, Pennsylvania for a rally.(