Pair of bombings at election offices kill 24 in Pakistan the day before elections

QUETTA, Pakistan — A pair of bombings at the election offices of a political party and an independent candidate in southwest Pakistan killed at least 24 people and wounded more than two dozen others, officials said Wednesday, the day before parliamentary elections are to be held. The first attack happened in Pashin, a district in … Read more

Rights groups denounce acquittal of former Serbian security officers accused of killing a journalist

BELGRADE, Serbia — Media rights groups and opposition campaigners on Saturday condemned a Serbian appeals court ruling that acquitted four former intelligence officers who were jailed for the killing of a prominent journalist and newspaper publisher who was fiercely critical of the government in Belgrade. Slavko Curuvija was shot dead at the entrance to his … Read more

The EU is worried that Israel might extend the war in Gaza to a ‘pressure cooker’ town near Egypt

BRUSSELS — The European Union on Saturday expressed deep concern over reports that the Israeli military intends to take its battle against Hamas to the town of Rafah at Gaza’s border with Egypt where more than a million people have escaped the fighting. The EU’s top diplomat warned that conflict is likely to spread throughout … Read more

Congo rebel group kills at least 19 people in attack on eastern town

KINSHASA, Congo — At least 19 people were killed when rebels attacked a town in Congo’s North Kivu province, the army said late Thursday, the latest violence in the country’s conflict-battered east. The rebels shelled the town of Mweso, where they “indiscriminately dropped mortar bombs,” which also injured 27 other civilians, army spokesman Lt. Col. … Read more

Russian prosecutors seek lengthy prison terms for suspects in cases linked to the war in Ukraine

A Russian court in Siberia on Friday sentenced a man to 19 years in prison for shooting a military enlistment officer, while prosecutors in St. Petersburg asked for a 28-year sentence for a woman charged in the bombing of a cafe last April that killed a prominent military blogger, reports said. Both cases underscore the … Read more

Grenade explosion in Afghanistan’s capital kills 2 people and wounds 12 in Shiite neighborhood

KABUL, Afghanistan — A grenade explosion in Afghanistan’s capital killed two people and wounded 12 in a Shiite neighborhood of Kabul on Thursday, a police spokesman said. It was the second deadly blast in the Dasht-e-Barchi area in less than a week. The explosion occurred outside a commercial center in mid-afternoon. No one immediately claimed … Read more

A minivan explodes in Kabul, killing at least 3 civilians and wounding 4 others

ISLAMABAD — A bomb stuck to a minivan exploded in Afghanistan’s capital of Kabul on Tuesday, killing at least three civilians and wounding four others, a Taliban official said. Police spokesman Khalid Zadran said the explosion occurred in the eastern part of the city, in Alokhail area. Police have launched an investigation and one suspect … Read more

Pakistani Taliban claims responsibility for bomb that killed 6 police guarding anti-polio campaign

KHAR, Pakistan — A roadside bomb exploded Monday near a van carrying police assigned to protect workers in an anti-polio immunization campaign in restive northwestern Pakistan, killing at least six officers and wounding 10 others, officials said. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. The bombing happened in the former Pakistani Taliban stronghold of … Read more

ISIS claims responsibility for Iran suicide bombings killing at least 84 people

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The Islamic State group claimed responsibility Thursday for two suicide bombings targeting a commemoration for an Iranian general slain in a 2020 U.S. drone strike, the worst militant attack to strike Iran in decades as the wider Middle East remains on edge. Experts who follow the group confirmed that the … Read more

UN chief closes tribunal founded to investigate 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister

BEIRUT — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has closed an international tribunal that was created to investigate the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the U.N. chief’s spokesperson said Sunday. Over the years, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon held in absentia proceedings and found three members of the militant Hezbollah group guilty in … Read more