Russia launched what it called its largest ever military drills, with hundreds of thousands of troops taking part along with Chinese soldiers in a show of force Nato condemned as a rehearsal for "large-scale conflict."

A man being held after a knife attack that injured seven people along a canal in Paris was not under the influence of drugs at the time, a legal source told AFP yesterday.

The International Criminal Court yesterday said it would "continue to do its work undeterred" a day after US National Security Adviser John Bolton threatened sanctions if the tribunal investigated US activities in Afghanistan. =

British Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party faces a "catastrophic split" if she persists with her proposals on Brexit, which 80 or more of her lawmakers are prepared to vote against, a former junior minister said.

Sweden faces a political impasse after its mainstream centre-left and centre-right blocs virtually tied in an election on Sunday, while the far-right - which neither wants to deal with - made gains on a hardline anti-immigration platform.

Turkish authorities yesterday detained 51 soldiers and nine others over alleged links to the US-based cleric who Ankara says orchestrated the failed coup in 2016 against President Tayyip Erdogan, Istanbul police said.

Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal wraps "a suicide vest around the British constitution" and hands the detonator to the European Union, former foreign minister Boris Johnson said in comments that drew strong criticism.

United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet yesterday urged Egypt's appeals court to overturn mass death sentences handed down by a lower court after what she said was an "unfair trial".

Long awaited UN-backed talks between Yemen's warring parties sputtered out yesterday before ever truly starting, after the Huthi rebels

Russia yesterday said it had "irrefutable information" Syrian rebels were planning an imminent "provocation" in Idlib province to justify

Two Russians accused by London of trying to kill a former double agent with nerve agent posed as businessmen to obtain visas to visit Britain for the attack, a report said yesterday.

The head of Germany's domestic intelligence agency yesterday raised doubts about reports of a "hunt on foreigners" by neo-Nazi mobs in a flashpoint city last month, directly contradicting Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The number of Britons who describe themselves as belonging to the Church of England has fallen to a record low with more than half now saying they have no religion, according to a survey.

A tense truce within German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative camp imploded yesterday after her hardline interior minister defended protests marred by neo-Nazi violence and blasted immigration as "the mother of all political problems".

Russia on Wednesday accused the United States of 'destructive' meddling in Nicaragua's affairs for calling a UN Security Council meeting on the crisis in the Central American country.

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt says he would host talks at the UN this month over allegations Myanmar's military committed genocide against the Rohingya minority, warning the perpetrators must be brought to justice.

Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, who took the helm of the UN human rights office on Monday, will need a strong voice in confronting populists and crises marked by war crimes, activists said.

Spain said yesterday it has cancelled a 2015 deal to sell 400 laser-guided bombs to Saudi Arabia, which is leading a coalition fighting rebels in Yemen.

Europe's biggest news agencies yesterday accused Google and Facebook of "plundering" news for free in a joint statement that called on the internet giants to share more of their revenues with the media.

Europe's biggest news agencies accuses Google and Facebook of "plundering" news for free in a joint statement that called on the internet giants to share more of their revenues with the media.