Islamabad, Pakistan | AFP | Pakistan’s law minister Zahid Hamid has resigned, state media reported Monday, meeting a key demand of Islamist protesters who have clashed violently with security forces and blockaded the capital Islamabad for weeks. Hamid “has submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to steer …

Karangasem, Indonesia | AFP | A rumbling volcano on the resort island of Bali could erupt at any moment, authorities warned Monday as they raised alert levels to maximum, accelerated a mass evacuation and closed the main airport, leaving tourists stranded. Massive columns of thick grey smoke that have been …

Huddersfield, United Kingdom | AFP | Pep Guardiola hailed Manchester City as a team for all seasons as the Premier League leaders survived a stern test at rain-lashed Huddersfield on Sunday. Guardiola’s side reestablished an eight-point lead over second-placed Manchester United thanks to a gritty second half fightback at the …

Yangon, Myanmar | AFP | Pope Francis arrived in mainly Buddhist Myanmar Monday on a highly sensitive visit to a country facing sharp global criticism for the alleged ethnic cleansing of its Rohingya Muslim minority. The 80-year-old pontiff, the first to travel to Myanmar, was welcomed by children from different …

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Saudi Arabia’s crown prince vowed to “pursue terrorists until they are wiped from the face of the earth” as officials from 40 Muslim countries gathered Sunday in the first meeting of an Islamic counter-terrorism alliance. “In past years, terrorism has been functioning in all of …

Al-Husayniyah, Egypt | AFP | The young Egyptian imam who survived the Sinai mosque massacre that killed 305 people vowed Sunday from his hospital bed to go back and resume the sermon he never finished. Mohammed Abdel Fattah, 26, was delivering the Friday sermon at the North Sinai Rawda mosque when …

Rome, Italy | AFP | Pope Francis set off Sunday on his 21st and possibly most delicate overseas trip yet, a six-day visit to Myanmar and Bangladesh against the backdrop of the unfolding Rohingya refugee crisis. The 80-year-old pontiff’s plane left Rome en route for Yangon, Myanmar’s main city, shortly …

Tehran, Iran | AFP | The number of dead in a major earthquake that hit Iran’s western province of Kermanshah this month has risen to 483, official news agency IRNA said. The rise from a previous toll of 436 reported last week came after some people died from their injuries …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | The Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, put on his white cleric’s collar on Sunday for the first time since cutting it up ten years ago in a highly symbolic protest at Robert Mugabe’s rule. The Uganda-born cleric, the second most senior clergyman in the …

Doha, Qatar | AFP | Qatar on Sunday unveiled the design for what it claims is the World Cup’s first ‘reusable’ stadium, the seventh of eight expected venues that will stage games during the 2022 tournament. Ras Abu Aboud is a 40,000 seater stadium that will be built on Doha’s …