Tehran: Iranian authorities hanged Thursday in public five prisoners who had been sentenced to death on charges of kidnapping, rape, armed robbery and other crimes, state news agency IRNA reported. Three of the hangings of prisoners convicted of kidnapping, rape and torture took place early Thursday at Azadi Square inRead More

Tripoli: Libya`s parliament rejected Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani`s proposed 18-member cabinet Thursday, calling for a slimline “crisis” team of no more than 10 ministers, a deputy said. Thani and the internationally recognised parliament, elected in June, are in virtual domestic exile in the far eastern city of Tobruk because ofRead More

London, Islamic State militants, who have already killed three hostages – a Briton and two Americans – and are threatening to kill British man Alan Henning, have released a new video showing captured British journalist John Cantlie. The latest video shows Cantlie, who was abducted in Syria in October 2012, saying thatRead More

Sydney, In what was called the largest anti-terror operation in Australian history, police have arrested 15 people allegedly linked to the Islamic State, some who plotted a public beheading. Police said the planned attack was to be “random.” The killers were to behead a victim and then drape the bodyRead More

Beijing, A leading Chinese daily Thursday praised the “less formal itinerary” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Ahmedabad Wednesday, calling it an exceptional departure from tradition with potential to set a positive tone for Sino-Indian ties. Xi began his three-day visit to india Wednesday fromRead More

EDINBURGH: The Scottish independence referendum started on Thursday as polling stations opened for voting on the question “Should Scotland be an independent country?” From 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., ballots for the choice of “Yes” or “No” would be cast at 32 polling stations across Scotland, Xinhua reported. This isRead More

Washington, US President Barack Obama has called for building a strong coalition with broad international participation against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the terrorist outfit that has gained control over a large part of Iran and Syria. Obama met General (rtd) John Allen, the Special Presidential EnvoyRead More

Edinburgh/ Scotland, With the Scottish referendum too close to call, British Prime Minister David Cameron admitted he was concerned that the United Kingdom could be on the verge of breaking up. Cameron said “Everyone who cares about our United Kingdom, and I care passionately about our United Kingdom, is nervous.Read More

United Nations, Reform of the UN Security Council will be among the priorities during the 69th General Assembly session, which opened here, with the body’s new President Sam Kahamba Kutesa saying the need to reform the most powerful UN organ is “urgent”. “One of the priorities I highlighted for thisRead More

Washington, With a goal to end the US’ sole reliance on the Russian Space Shuttle in 2017, NASA selected two American firms to transport astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). The space agency late Tuesday chose the US multinational Boeing Co and California-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) forRead More