Pope Francis has died, Vatican says

Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, has died, the Vatican said on Monday, ending an often turbulent reign marked by division and tension as he sought to overhaul the hidebound institution. He was 88, and had suffered a serious bout of double pneumonia this year, but his death came…

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Kenyan court tries Belgian teens on ant smuggling charges

Kenyan authorities brought four men, including two Belgian teenagers, before court on Tuesday, charged with wildlife piracy over the smuggling of ants. The trafficking of body parts of larger species of wild animals is common in Kenya, with authorities in the past combating the smuggling of body parts of elephants, rhinos and pangolins, among others.…

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‘Death is everywhere’: Sudan camp residents shelter from attacks

Devastating attacks on a camp hosting hundreds of thousands of people who had fled Sudan’s civil war have continued for a third day, residents have told the BBC. More than 100 civilians, among them at least 20 children and a medical team, have been killed in a series of assaults that began late last week…

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Al-Shabab gunmen lay siege to Somali hotel

Al-Shabab gunmen have stormed and laid siege to a hotel in central Somalia as government officials and tribal elders met to discuss action against the outfit. The armed group claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s attack on the Cairo Hotel in the town of Beledweyne in a statement. Several people are reported to have been killed. The…

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Pakistan militants attack train and take passengers hostage

Armed militants in Pakistan’s Balochistan region have attacked a train carrying hundreds of passengers and taken a number of hostages, military sources have told the BBC. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) fired at the Jaffar Express Train as it travelled from Quetta to Peshawar. The Baloch Liberation Army has warned of “severe consequences” if an…

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Nascent Syrian armed group emerges to confront Israeli forces

An armed organization calling itself The Islamic Resistance Front in Syria—Great Might (formerly known as The Front for the Liberation of the South) has issued statements warning the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to withdraw from southern Syria and the demilitarized zone in the Golan Heights. The group has also claimed responsibility for several attacks against…

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Exclusive: Russian missile experts flew to Iran amid clashes with Israel

Several senior Russian missile specialists have visited Iran over the past year as the Islamic Republic has deepened its defence cooperation with Moscow, a Reuters review of travel records and employment data indicates. The seven weapons experts were booked to travel from Moscow to Tehran aboard two flights on April 24 and September 17 last…

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