The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution on Tuesday that deplores all acts of violence against holy books as a violation of international law. It comes in the wake of multiple burnings and desecrations of copies of Islam’s holy book, the Quran, in European countries,

Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to visit China in October, a top Kremlin official announced Tuesday. Russian news agencies quoted Putin’s foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, as saying the trip will be timed to coincide with a “One Belt, One Road” forum in

The death toll from a wave of violence in Ecuador’s most dangerous prison has climbed to 31, officials said, hours after President Guillermo Lasso imposed a 60-day state of emergency across the country’s prison system. The prosecutor’s office raised the toll from 31

A Russian delegation led by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has arrived in North Korea to attend the 70th anniversary of the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War, according to reports. The delegation arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday evening, according to the official Korean Central

Wildfires raging across Algeria have killed more than 30 people, including 10 soldiers battling the flames, and forced the evacuation of hundreds of people from their homes along the country’s Mediterranean coastal region. The reports of the deaths came on Monday as temperatures

Former United States President Barack Obama’s personal chef has been found dead in a lake near the Obamas’ family home, in the resort community of Martha’s Vineyard. Massachusetts State Police confirmed on Monday that a paddle boarder who was seen getting into

Pakistan’s Election Commission has issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against Imran Khan in the latest legal challenge facing the former prime minister. The latest case came on Monday, the same day Khan was granted bail by the Supreme Court in a different case. Khan has been

Iraq and some other Muslim-majority countries have strongly condemned the burning of a Quran on Monday by a group called "Danish Patriots" outside the Iraqi embassy in Copenhagen. The far-right group livestreamed a similar act on Facebook on Friday. Nearly 1,000

Israeli MPs have passed into law a highly controversial bill despite mass protests which aimed to thwart it. The law removes the power of the Supreme Court to overrule government actions it considers unreasonable. It is the first to be approved in a series of bitterly contested

At least 15 people are dead after a ferry sank off Indonesia’s Sulawesi island, according to local authorities. The ferry had 40 passengers on board when it sank at approximately midnight (16:00 GMT) and authorities are searching for 19 people who remain missing,

Residents and tourists have fled hot spots on the Greek island of Rhodes as firefighters, backed by water jets and helicopters, battle a blaze that sparked the country’s largest-ever fire evacuation. Wind gusts of up to 49km/h (30mph) were complicating efforts to bring the flames

At least 11 people are now known to have died after the roof of school gymnasium collapsed under heavy rain in north-east China, state media reports. Officials say 19 people were trapped inside the gym when it collapsed. Eyewitnesses told media that many of the victims are children,

At least 31 people have been killed and dozens of others are missing after heavy flooding from seasonal rains in Afghanistan, as 13 people died due to heavy rains and landslides in neighbouring Pakistan. Shafiullah Rahimi, the Taliban’s appointed spokesman for Afghanistan’s

Thousands of people have been evacuated from homes and hotels on the Greek island of Rhodes after wildfires engulfed large parts of the island. The country's fire service has described the fires as the most difficult it is currently facing. It is estimated more than 3,500 people

housands of demonstrators demand immediate arrest of those involved in sexual assaults on two women that caused an outcry. Thousands of tribals, mostly women, have staged a massive sit-in protest in India’s Manipur, demanding the arrest of those involved in the harrowing mob

Fawn Makhalfeh, 18, was killed by Israeli forces in what Palestinian foreign ministry denounced as an ‘execution’. The Palestinian foreign ministry has called for an international investigation into the Israeli killing of a Palestinian teenager in the occupied West Bank

Hundreds of people in Baghdad have attempted to storm the city’s Green Zone, a heavily fortified area with a number of foreign embassies and the seat of Iraq’s government. Nearly 1,000 protesters were dispersed by security forces early on Saturday, in reaction to reports of

A drone attack on an ammunition depot in Crimea has led to civilian evacuations and disrupted transport, Russian authorities have said. Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-installed governor of occupied Crimea, said Ukraine was behind the attack, without providing evidence. Mr Aksyonov

A man has been arrested in Mexico on suspicion of setting fire to a bar after he was kicked out, killing 11 people, officials say. The attack happened on Friday night in San Luis Rio Colorado, which borders the United States. The bar sits just one street away from the border.

A series of climate records on temperature, ocean heat, and Antarctic sea ice have alarmed some scientists who say their speed and timing is "unprecedented". Dangerous heatwaves sweeping Europe could break further records, according to the UN. It is hard to immediately