A massive landslide is feared to have killed many after it struck six remote villages in Papua New Guinea, local officials and aid agencies said. The landslide buried more than 100 homes after it struck at around 03:00 local time Friday (17:00 GMT Thursday) in the highlands of Enga, north of the island nation in […]

The planned mass wedding of about 100 orphans has sparked widespread outrage across Nigeria.  The orphans, some of whom are feared to be underage girls, are set to be married off on 24 May in the north-western state of Niger. They have all lost parents to attacks by armed bandits, who regularly target civilians across […]

Minister Tomas Taraba told the BBC he believed the operation had […]

A least 14 people have been killed and dozens more injured after a giant billboard collapsed during a sudden storm in the Indian city of Mumbai. The billboard, measuring 70m by 50m according to the police, fell onto houses and a petrol station in the city on Monday. Emergency services say a few people are […]

One of Europe’s most notorious people-smugglers has been arrested in Iraq following a BBC investigation. Barzan Majeed was arrested in Iraqi Kurdistan on Sunday morning, a senior government official said. For several years, he and his gang were heavily involved in the people-smuggling trade –

A recent report in the U.S.-national daily, the Washington Post, alleges that a plot to kill Khalistani activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, wanted on terror charges in India, was ordered by the previous chief of the Indian Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), with official sanction from senior intelligence officials tied to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s inner […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to replace his long-standing ally Sergei Shoigu as defence minister, the Kremlin has announced. The 68-year-old has been in the role since 2012 and is to be appointed the head of Russia’s Security Council. Papers published by the upper chamber of the Russian parliament said  Shoigu will be replaced […]

For the fifth time Vladimir Putin will be taking the long walk through the Grand Kremlin Palace to the St Andrew’s Throne Hall. There he will take the oath of office and be sworn in as Russia’s president for a new six-year term The route may be familiar, but much has changed since Putin’s first […]

President Xi Jinping has hailed “new vistas” in China’s relationship with France on his first trip to Europe in five years – one that feels much like a charm offensive. Mr Xi will be looking to avert the trade war that is looming with Brussels, driven by fears of cheap Chinese electric vehicles entering the […]

Israel’s government has moved to shut down the operations of the Al Jazeera television network in the country, branding it a mouthpiece for Hamas. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the cabinet agreed to the closure while the war in Gaza is ongoing. Police raided the Qatari broadcaster’s office at the Ambassador hotel in Jerusalem on […]

China has launched a probe to collect samples from the far side of the Moon, in what is being billed a world first. An unmanned rocket carrying the Chang’e-6 probe blasted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center at about 17:27 local time (10:27 BST). The 53-day mission aims to bring around two kilograms of […]