Politics

Azerbaijani authorities should immediately secure the release of leading human rights defender Leyla Yunus from pretrial custody, and drop the politically motivated charges against her and her husband Arif Yunus. The authorities should also end their ongoing harassment against the couple.

International experts found the remains of more victims of the downed Malaysian airliner in east Ukraine on Friday but fighting nearby between government forces and pro-Russian rebels renewed security concerns around the wreckage.

International experts found the remains of more victims of the downed Malaysian airliner in east Ukraine on Friday but fighting nearby between government forces and pro-Russian rebels renewed security concerns around the wreckage.

KAOHSIUNG Taiwan Fri Aug 1, 2014 12:26am

An explosion caused by a gas leak killed 24 people and injured 271 in Taiwan's second city on Friday, sending flames shooting 15 storeys into the air, setting entire blocks ablaze and reducing small shops to rubble.

KAOHSIUNG Taiwan Fri Aug 1, 2014 12:26am

An explosion caused by a gas leak killed 24 people and injured 271 in Taiwan's second city on Friday, sending flames shooting 15 storeys into the air, setting entire blocks ablaze and reducing small shops to rubble.

Israel pressed ahead with its Gaza offensive saying it was days from achieving its core goal of destroying all Islamist guerrilla cross-border attack tunnels, but a soaring Palestinian civilian toll has triggered international alarm.

Russia fought back on Wednesday over new U.S. and EU sanctions imposed over Ukraine even as G7 leaders warned of further steps, while Ukraine's government accused pro-Russian rebels of placing land mines near the site of a crashed Malaysian airliner to prevent a proper investigation.

Russia fought back on Wednesday over new U.S. and EU sanctions imposed over Ukraine, where fighting between Moscow-backed rebels and government troops has intensified since a Malaysian airliner was shot down.

 Two influential former Chinese leaders gave their consent for President Xi Jinping to investigate ex-domestic security chief Zhou Yongkang, sources told Reuters, a sign the corruption probe will not open a rift in the ruling Communist Party.

GAZA, State of Palestine, 28 July 2014 – As the hostilities enter their twenty-first day, the number of children dying is growing. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been reported killed so far, of whom around 230 were children – more than 10 a day.