OTTAWA — The RCMP have arrested and charged a Somalian man in connection with the overseas hostage-taking of former journalist Amanda Lindhout. Lindhout and photographer Nigel Brennan were seized by young gunmen near Mogadishu, Somalia, in August 2008. Both were released on Nov. 25, 2009. The Mounties say Ali OmarRead More

MONTREAL — The Quebec government said it would accelerate immigration procedures for Raif Badawi, the blogger in Saudi Arabia who has been sentenced to 1,000 lashes but was spared Friday. It was feared his punishment would resume after the Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia upheld the sentence imposed on theRead More

New York: Cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni is among Forbes magazine’s 100 highest-paid athletes in the world, the only Indian sportsman on the list that has been topped again by American boxer Floyd Mayweather and includes golfer Tiger Woods, tennis star Roger Federer and Portuguese soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo. Dhoni hasRead More

ISLAMABAD: Accusing India of destabilising Pakistan, former military ruler Pervez Musharraf has said nuclear weapons are for the defence of the country and not for “celebratory” occasions. Musharraf, who ruled from 1999 to 2008, claimed India is carrying an aggressive attitude as a pre-planned strategy with the ultimate end gameRead More

BUENOS AIRES/BRUSSELS: Tensions over the Falkland Islands flared again on Wednesday, with Argentine President Cristina Fernandez referring to Britain’s leader as “almost ill-mannered” in his comments to an official of her government over the contested archipelago. At a meeting of Latin American countries with the European Union in Brussels, ForeignRead More

BEIJING: Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing today, state media said, during her closely watched first visit to China. Suu Kyi met with Xi at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, according to the official Xinhua News Agency, which did not immediatelyRead More

MELBOURNE: The Islamic State (IS) is believed to have collected radioactive material from hospitals and research establishments in cities it has captured in Iraq and Syria which it could use to build a large ‘dirty bomb’, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has warned. IS had declared its ambition to developRead More

NEW YORK: A US appeals court will hear oral arguments in August in a lawsuit against Congress President Sonia Gandhi in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case. The lawsuit brought by Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) alleges that Mrs Gandhi shielded and protected the perpetrators of the anti-Sikh riots that followed theRead More

SAINT-DENIS DE LA REUNION: France’s Prime Minister Manuel Valls said today he regretted a controversial trip to the Champions League final last weekend and announced he would pay back part of the cost amid howls of protest. Manuel Valls has come under intense pressure after it emerged he used aRead More

SYDNEY: The Islamic State group has “global ambitions” and more must be done to tackle its use of social media for recruitment, representatives of governments and technology giants heard in Australia Today. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott told the regional extremism conference it was vital to find ways to stymieRead More