A rocket slammed into an Iraqi base where American troops are stationed in the remote province of Kirkuk, Iraqi and US security sources told AFP on Thursday night. There were no immediate reports of casualties. According to three separate Iraqi security sources, the Katyusha rocket hit the K1 base at around 8:45 pm local time […]

A letter bomb on Thursday exploded at a bank in Amsterdam, police said, the latest in a spate of such attacks. “The letter containing explosives blew up in a bank in the south-eastern part of the city. No one was hurt,’’ the police said. Also, a letter containing explosives was also identified in Utrecht; however, […]

Ethiopia on Thursday passed a law punishing “hate speech” and “disinformation” with hefty fines and long jail terms, despite fears by rights groups it undermines gains in free speech. Nearly 300 lawmakers voted in favour of the bill, with 23 votes against and two abstentions. The new law defines hate speech as rhetoric that fuels discrimination […]

Turkmenistan’s leader Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has fired the head of the powerful national security ministry, state media reported Thursday. Berdymukhamedov dismissed Yalim Berdiyev, who had held the post since 2018, and replaced him with deputy national security minister Gurbanmyrat Annayev, the state-run Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper said. Berdiyev had moved on to another job, it said, without giving […]

France on Thursday said it would not bow to American pressure to exclude Huawei from supplying equipment for its 5G networks, though the Chinese telecommunications firm could be subject to restrictions. Taking a stance echoing those of Britain and the European Union, Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said Paris could prioritise European operators […]