WORLD

On Wednesday, the Vatican’s Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin defended the right of Palestinians to a “sovereign and independent” homeland, saying that he hoped that the Pope’s upcoming visit will lead to a “courageous decision” for peace. Cardinal Parolin’s role in the Vatican is equivalent to that of a country’s Prime Minister. “We know that the pope is going …

On Wednesday, Pakistani jets crushed Taliban targets in North Waziristan district near the Afghani border, leaving at least 60 people dead in the attacks. According to officials, the targets in the district, a stronghold of al-Qaeda and Taliban militants, were taken down in the early hours of Wednesday. A few insurgent commanders were also killed in the strikes. The military’s …

On Monday, Russia brought to an end its military exercises near the Ukrainian border, days ahead of a vital Presidential vote in Ukraine which aims to end the crisis in the country. The office of Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he had ordered several thousand Russian soldiers stationed near the Ukrainian border to return to their barracks as the …

The fourth round of nuclear talks between six world powers and Iran came to an end on Friday, with both sides arguing that major hurdles remained ahead of the July 20th deadline for an accord. Abbas Araqchi, the chief nuclear negotiator for Iran, said on state television that “no tangible progress” was made at the negotiations in Vienna as the …

On Friday, Narendra Modi dominated the polls to win the general elections in India, utterly trouncing the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty from power in the center, in a major political shift in the country. Modi’s landslide victory, the largest margin of victory in general elections in India for the past thirty years, was welcomed by a blistering rally in Indian stock markets …

Nigerian lawmakers on Wednesday began debating President Goodluck Johnathan’s request for a six-month extension on the state of emergency imposed a year ago in three north-eastern states most affected by lethal violence. The international community watches on in eager anticipation of Nigerian action as more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram have been in captivity for over a month …

Ukrainian leaders on Wednesday launched round-table “Unity” talks as a part of a Western push to prevent the country from falling apart. They vowed that they wouldn’t bow to “blackmail” by pro-Russian forces waging an insurgency in Eastern Ukraine. The “Unity” talks do not involve the pro-Russian forces battling in Eastern Ukraine, and are being held two weeks before Ukraine …

Pakistan late on Tuesday asked the two Indian journalists stationed in Islamabad to leave the country within a week. The Indian government has criticized the move, calling it a retrograde step which would affect any confidence-building measures between the two rivals and nuclear-armed neighbors. The civilian government in Pakistan has been having a strenuous relationship with its powerful military regarding …

On Tuesday, several coal miners were reported to have died in an explosion at a coal mine in the Manisa province in Western Turkey. According to unconfirmed reports, over 300 coal miners and other workers are trapped underground in the privately owned mine in Soma district. The people trapped are about 4 km away from the mine’s exit, and 2 …

Six Ukrainian military troops were killed by separatist forces near the city Krematorsk in eastern Ukraine, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday. Eight more soldiers were wounded in the separatist “ambush” in the outskirts village of Oktyabrske near the city Krematorsk. The statement, released on the Defense ministry’s website, said that the attack was “cynical and dangerous”, and had occurred …