Six stories you may have missed because of US election Iraqi Kurdish forces seized the town of Bashiqa near Mosul from ISIL, an official said While the US presidential race between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton dominated international headlines on Tuesday, Russia announced that it was preparing to renew its air strikes on Syria’s Aleppo … Read more
Pakistan has deported Sharbat Gula, the “green-eyed Afghan girl” in the renowned 1985 National Geographic photo, for using fraudulent identity documents, according to officials. Police escorted Gula on Tuesday from a Peshawar hospital, where she had been staying since her arrest last month for living illegally in Pakistan. Gula, who had become the symbol of … Read more
He went out drinking in the city of Yangon said by his wife. In a statement seen by the BBC, his wife said he had been out drinking with another man in the city of Yangon on Friday night before his death. The Foreign Office said it was investigating the death of a British national … Read more
Outraged Moroccan students in the northern city of Al-Hoceima boycotted schools on Monday and took to the streets in new protests over the gruesome death of a fishmonger, who was crushed to death inside a garbage truck in the city. Mouhcine Fikri, 31, was crushed to death in the truck on Friday, as he reportedly … Read more
Thousands of Moroccans have held protests in several towns and cities after a fish seller was crushed to death in a refuse lorry trying to retrieve fish confiscated by police. The death of Mouhcine Fikri in the northern town of Al-Hoceima on Friday drew widespread anger on social media. His death drew parallels to that … Read more
The rainbow flag, which represents the LGBT community, was visible across Taipei on Saturday. Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Taiwan’s capital, Taipei, to participate in Asia’s biggest gay pride parade. Many of those who attended carried placards calling on the government to legalise same sex marriage. Dressed in colourful … Read more
Two strong earthquakes have hit central Italy, damaging buildings and injuring dozens of people. A 5.5-magnitude quake struck at 19:10 (17:10 GMT) near Visso in Macerata province, followed two hours later by a 6.1 magnitude tremor in the same area. Emergency teams have worked through the night. In August an earthquake killed about 300 people … Read more
An official said the killings were to avenge the death of one of ISIL’s commanders Fighters have killed at least 30 civilians, including children, after abducting them in the remote Afghan province of Ghor, according to an Afghan police official. Suspected ISIL fighters killed dozens of civilians on Tuesday in the Firozkoh district in revenge … Read more
More than 1,200 police and officials in France have begun an operation to clear the “Jungle” migrant camp in Calais. The camp has been housing some 7,000 people in squalid conditions. Migrants queued peacefully to be processed, and the first of some 60 coaches that will carry them to refugee centres across France, have now … Read more
A cash shortage has led to long queues at many of the country’s banks Zimbabwe has paid the International Monetary Fund (IMF) more than $100m (£83m) to settle its arrears with the organisation, the AFP news agency is reporting. The IMF said in a statement that “Zimbabwe is now current on all its financial obligations … Read more
Fighters from the self-styled Islamic State (IS) group have attacked government buildings in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk, killing at least six police officers and 16 civilians. Twelve IS jihadists were also killed in the dawn attack. Hours later, witnesses said gunfire was still being heard and militants were walking openly through the streets. Separately, … Read more
Facebook has removed a video on breast cancer awareness posted in Sweden after it considered the images “offensive”, a group says. Cancerfonden’s video featured animated women with their breasts represented by pink circles, showing ways to detect suspicious lumps. Facebook has not commented. The social media platform caused outrage last month for removing the iconic … Read more
At least six people have been killed and several injured after a suicide attacker drove a bomb-laden car into a police station just outside the Somali capital, residents have told the BBC. “Many militants have entered the town” of Afgoye, 30km (18 miles) north-west of Mogadishu, a police major said. Islamist militant group al-Shabab says … Read more
The last king of Rwanda has died in the US aged 80 years old. Born Jean-Baptiste Ndahindurwa, King Kigeli V came to power in 1959 but was only king of Rwanda until 1961, when the monarchy was abolished and he was forced into exile. He eventually settled in the US where he set up a … Read more
Iraqi pro-government forces have made gains at the start of a large-scale operation to retake Mosul, the last major stronghold of the so-called Islamic State (IS) in the country. Iraqi government troops and Kurdish fighters launched their push towards the city in the early hours of Monday. IS seized Mosul during a lightning offensive in … Read more
The death toll in Haiti as a result of Hurricane Matthew – the most powerful Caribbean storm in a decade – has soared to more than 300, officials say. Some 50 people were reported killed in the town of Roche-a-Bateau alone. The nearby city of Jeremie saw 80% of its buildings levelled. In Sud province … Read more
The death toll in Haiti as a result of Hurricane Matthew – the most powerful Caribbean storm in a decade – has soared to more than 300, officials say. Some 50 people were reported killed in the town of Roche-a-Bateau alone. The nearby city of Jeremie saw 80% of its buildings levelled. In Sud province … Read more
Ethiopia and Djibouti have launched the first fully electrified cross-border railway line in Africa. It links Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, to the Red Sea port of Djibouti – a stretch of more than 750km (466 miles). Travelling at 120km/h, the new service cuts the journey time down from three days by road to about 12 … Read more
Analysis of satellite imagery taken after a deadly attack on an aid convoy in northern Syria last month shows that it was an air strike, a UN expert says. At least 18 people were killed when lorries unloading at a Syrian Arab Red Crescent warehouse in a rebel-held town outside Aleppo came under fire. The … Read more
An air raid on the rebel-held eastern half of the Syrian city of Aleppo has hit the area’s largest hospital for the second time in a matter of days, a medical charity says. The Syrian American Medical Society, which supports the hospital, said it had been struck by barrel bombs. The same facility was hit … Read more