So this then is the US “Plan B” for Iran – to step up the sanctions pressure in order to force the Tehran government into a new diplomatic deal. It would need to accept broader constraints, not just on its nuclear activities, but also on its missile programme and wider behaviour in the region. But […]

The Syrian military has declared that it has taken full control of all areas around the capital, Damascus, for the first time in six years. “Damascus and its surroundings… are completely secure,” spokesman Gen Ali Mayhoub said on state television. The announcement came after troops cleared Islamic State (IS) militants from the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee […]

First it was catastrophic lava. Then it was sulfur dioxide. Now Big Island residents have yet another danger to worry about. Laze — a mashup of “lava” and “haze” — is a nasty product formed when hot lava hits the ocean, sending hydrochloric acid and volcanic glass particles into the air. And now it’s a real threat […]

President Donald Trump says he will demand an inquiry into whether his election campaign was infiltrated for political purposes. In a tweet, Mr Trump said he wanted to know whether his predecessor’s administration ordered such a move. The request, which will be made officially on Monday, comes after US media reports suggesting the FBI had an […]

Saudi authorities have arrested seven women’s rights advocates, weeks before the kingdom is due to lift its ban on women driving, rights groups say. The reasons for the arrests were not clear, but activists say authorities are attempting to silence the women. The kingdom’s state news channel reported that they had been arrested for contacts […]

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been proclaimed husband and wife after pledging their love to one another at a fairytale wedding at Windsor Castle. After a service watched by an estimated global TV audience of 1.9billion, the new Duke and Duchess of Sussex emerged from the historic church set in the grounds of St George’s Chapel, beaming with delight. Having walked […]

As Ebola is confirmed in a city with 1.5 million inhabitants, officials warn it could cause “an exponential increase” in cases. There is a “very high” public health risk from Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the World Health Organisation has said. The health agency has raised its earlier assessment after one patient […]

More than 100 people have died after a Boeing 737 airliner crashed and exploded near Jose Marti International Airport in Havana, Cuban state media say. Three people have survived but are in a critical condition in hospital, Cuban Communist Party newspaper Granma reported. The plane came down shortly after take-off, crashing in a field. It […]

LONDON (AFP) – Street parties, open-air screenings and hipster bars are all offering Britons a chance to join in celebrations of the Windsor Castle wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on Saturday (May 19). Here are ways five ways in which Britons are celebrating – or bemoaning – the royal nuptials: HEN AND STAG […]

The Ebola outbreak in DR Congo has spread from the countryside into a city, prompting fears that the disease will be increasingly hard to control. Health Minister Oly Ilunga Kalenga confirmed a case in Mbandaka, a city of a million about 130km (80 miles) from where the first cases were confirmed. The city is a […]