Local Official

Mali votes despite coronavirus and security fears

Mali held its long-delayed parliamentary election despite an insurgency in its central and northern regions, concerns about coronavirus and the recent kidnapping of the main opposition leader.

World Polio Day: Why Pakistan is failing to eradicate the disease

Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria are the only countries in the world, where polio is endemic. And in contrast to recent years of gradual improvement, this year there have been at least 72 cases of polio in Pakistan after only eight in 2018.

Nearly 100 killed, 19 missing in central Mali village massacre

Attackers raided a Dogon village overnight, burning cattle and houses to the ground, authorities say, an attack that comes less than three months after nearly 160 members of the Fulani ethnic group were slaughtered by a group identified as Dogon.

Gunmen kill 14 bus passengers in southwest Pakistan

A Pakistani official says gunmen have ambushed a bus and killed 14 passengers after forcing them off the vehicle on a highway in the country's southwest.

Russian Arctic archipelago sounds alarm over aggressive polar bears

Russia's northeastern Novaya Zemlya archipelago has appealed for help to tackle "a mass invasion of polar bears into inhabited areas."

Japan's wagyu beef looks to conquer the world

With consumption of the famed meat known for its melt-in-the-mouth tenderness and marbled fat on the decline in Japan, producers are looking overseas to boost sales instead.

Suicide bombing kills seven in northern Cameroon

There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack in Cameroon's Far North region, which is a routine target of Boko Haram suicide bombers.

Bus crash kills 10 pilgrims in Russia

The bus, carrying 51 orthodox pilgrims who had been taking part in a procession at a monastery, overturned just before midnight local time on a motorway connecting the cities of Irkutsk and Chita.

US-led coalition air strike kills dozens in western Mosul

No precise toll of civilian casualties has been given since the attack on western Mosul started in mid-February but a prominent Iraqi politician said last week that the number could be as high as 3,500 dead.

12 people killed as fire engulfs student dormitory in Turkey

The girls dormitory in the town of Aladag housed 34 secondary school students.

Attacks kill 5 soldiers and a civilian in Mali during key vote

Despite deadly attacks, the country successfully went ahead and held municipal elections, hoping to help secure a peace deal with armed groups.

At least 50 die after ferry boat sinks in Myanmar

Rescue teams are searching the Chindwin River for missing passengers. The overloaded ferry was carrying more than 250 passengers out of which more than 150 have been rescued.