News

Assaults on consulate in Afghanistan and airbase in India near Pakistan border threaten to scupper two separate but linked diplomatic efforts in region Indian soldiers take position during a combing operation after a terror attack on Pathankot airbase, in India’s Punjab state. Photograph: Xinhua/Corbis Two key peace initiatives in south Asia are in jeopardy after terror attacks on Indian targets ... Read More »

UN envoy resigns in Israel access row The UN investigator for human rights violations in the Palestinian territories has resigned, saying that Israel reneged on its pledge to grant him access to the West Bank and Gaza. Makarim Wibisono, United Nations special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories, said that his repeated oral and written ... Read More »

Abdul Haroun was arrested in August after walking nearly 31 miles through tunnel, but charges may now be dropped Refugees walk on the railway tracks leading to the entrance of the Channel tunnel in Calais. Photograph: Philippe Wojazer/Reuters A Sudanese man who allegedly walked almost the entire length of the 31-mile Channel tunnel from France has been granted asylum in ... Read More »

Kenya massacre university reopens Officials say the Kenyan university where Islamic extremists killed 148 people nine months ago has reopened amid high security. Many Kenyans are praising the reopening of Garissa University College as showing that Kenya will not surrender to extremist violence. Registrar Isaack Mohammed Noor said on Monday that at least 150 of 200 staff had reported for ... Read More »

Four-month operation to clean waterway that has attracted tourists, fans of the film Amélie – and tonnes of rubbish A man plays guitar as Parisians enjoy the sun on the canal St-Martin Photograph: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images Authorities in Paris are to begin draining the canal St-Martin, a favourite haunt of hipsters in the city’s north-east, in an attempt to refurbish ... Read More »

IS beheading video ‘desperate stuff’ British Prime Minister David Cameron has dismissed a new video in which five purported British spies are shot dead by masked Islamic State extremists as propaganda from a group that is losing control of territory in Syria and Iraq. “It’s desperate stuff from an organisation that really does do the most utterly despicable and ghastly ... Read More »

As President Obama discusses ending the ‘gun show loophole’ that exempts some buyers from background checks firearms sell fast at Alabama event A gun seller at the Great Southern Gun and Knife Show in Birmingham, Alabama, advertises the fact that his customers are not subject to background checks. Photograph: Matthew Teague/the Guardian Thousands of people surged past Louis Bakane’s little ... Read More »

Shots fired at German refugee home Several shots have been fired at a home for asylum seekers in western Germany, leaving one resident lightly injured. The shots were fired at a window of the building in the town of Dreieich in the early hours of Monday morning, and one hit a 23-year-old asylum seeker who was sleeping, according to police ... Read More »

Garissa University welcomes back students nine months after attack with heightened police presence on campus Armed security officers guard the entrance of Garissa University on Monday. Photograph: AP Kenya’s Garissa University has reopened nine months after an al-Shabaab shooting rampage killed 142 students and six security personnel. A staff meeting was held on Monday, with students expected back for lessons ... Read More »

Channel Tunnel refugee granted UK asylum A Sudanese man who made global headlines in August when he walked 50km through the Channel Tunnel from France to England, highlighting the plight of migrants, has been granted asylum in Britain. The case of Abdul Haroun, who has been in prison since he was arrested at the English end of the tunnel on ... Read More »