DALLAS – Eight people are reported to have been killed in Texas in new tornadoes, raising the death toll to 26 in a week of storms in several US states. Five people died when their cars were reportedly blown off a motorway in Garland, near Dallas. Another three bodies were found in nearby towns. Officials…
ISTANBUL – The number of migrants and refugees crossing into Europe by land and sea this year has passed one million, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) says. The number represents a fourfold rise on the total last year. The vast majority crossed by sea, with more than 800,000 travelling from Turkey to Greece. Most…
ZURICH – Fifa president Sepp Blatter and Uefa boss Michel Platini have been suspended for eight years from all football-related activities following an ethics investigation. They were found guilty of breaches surrounding a £1.3m ($2m) “disloyal payment” made to Platini in 2011. The Fifa ethics committee found Blatter and Platini had demonstrated an “abusive execution”…
MOSCOW – US Secretary of State John Kerry is in Moscow for talks to try to bridge gaps with Russia over the political process to end Syria’s civil war. He is now in talks with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and will later meet President Vladimir Putin. The US and Russia have long disagreed on what…
PARIS – Organisers of climate talks in Paris are releasing details of a proposed landmark deal to curb climate change. France’s Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius says the final draft of the deal is fair, legally binding and would limit warming to well below 2C. “It’s my deep conviction that we have come up with an…
NEW YORK – Boxing legend Muhammad Ali has criticised US Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims from entering America. Without naming Mr Trump, Mr Ali said that Muslims “have to stand up to those who use Islam to advance their own personal agenda”. The three-time world heavyweight champion, 73, is a cultural…
NEW YORK – Donald Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric undermines US national security by boosting the Islamic State (IS) group, the Pentagon has warned. The leading Republican presidential candidate has said Muslims should be banned from entering the US, in the wake of the deadly California attacks. But Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said such talk “bolsters…
WASHINGTON – US President Barack Obama has made a rare Oval Office address after the San Bernardino shootings that left 14 dead. He said the killings were “an act of terrorism designed to kill innocent people”. But “freedom is more powerful than fear,” said President Obama, warning that falling prey to divisiveness in American society…
CARACAS – The opposition in Venezuela has won a majority of seats in the National Assembly, overturning nearly two decades of dominance by the Socialists of President Nicolas Maduro. Five hours after polling ended, the National Electoral Council announced the opposition had won 99 seats. President Maduro has admitted defeat, recognising “these adverse results”. It…
LONDON – A total of 23 people have been arrested and dozens of weapons seized in a series of raids on suspected Islamist militants across France, officials say. The crackdown follows multiple attacks on bars, restaurants a concert hall and a stadium in Paris on Friday, in which 129 people were killed. A police operation…
