Rome / AFP Two Italians and a Canadian who were kidnapped in the south of conflict-torn Libya in September have been released and flown to Italy, the Italian government announced on Saturday. The Italians, Danilo Calonego, 66, and Bruno Cacace, 56, and Canadian Frank Poccia were freed during the night “due to the effective cooperation with local Libyan authorities,” it ...

  Istanbul/ AFP An Istanbul court on Saturday ordered the imprisonment of nine staff from the opposition Cumhuriyet newspaper, in an intensifying crackdown a day after the leaders of the country’s main pro-Kurdish party were also jailed. The arrests added to growing international alarm over the use of a state of emergency implemented in the wake of the failed July 15 ...

  Diyarbakir / AFP A news outlet linked to the IS said its fighters staged a bombing that killed 11 people in southeastern Turkey, according to US-based monitors, after Ankara blamed Kurdish militants for the attack. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Friday’s bombing was carried out by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which has regularly targeted security forces since ending ...

  Rissani / AFP On the edge of the southwestern town of Rissani, Abdelrahman Ahmidani sighs as he reflects on the state of the Moroccan oasis, endangered by drought and climate change. “Whoever lives here,” he says, “is condemned to a life of poverty.” In Rissani, the sinuous mountain oasis of Tafilalet gradually disappears into the Sahara desert, after snaking ...

  Hamburg / DPA He’s the last man in Europe to hold down a dream job of journalism: exploring the world’s wildernesses, writing about it and getting paid a generous full-time salary for his pains. Following in the footsteps of Henry Morton Stanley of Africa fame and Tintin the fictitious boy reporter is Lars Abromeit, a German whose unique editorial ...

  AP In another black eye for one of the world’s leading consumer brands, US authorities announced a recall of nearly 3 million Samsung washing machines following several reports of injuries — including a broken jaw — due to “excessive vibration.” The recall comes a month after the South Korean manufacturer recalled millions of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones from ...

  Relaxnews We may be a full decade away from fully autonomous cars, but by 2018 there is a good chance that your next Ford Sedan or SUV will be able to take the strain, at least when it comes to parking. A 2016 BMW 7 Series can park itself, whether the owner is at the wheel or not, simply ...

  Relaxnews Internet usage from mobile devices (51.26%) overtook usage from desktop devices (48.74%) for the first time in October 2016, according to data from StatCounter. In fact, smartphones alone now account for 46.53% of web use, with traffic from tablets at 4.73%. While internet usage from tablets has remained relatively stable year on year, at around 5%, it’s smartphone ...

  Relaxnews Chinese electronics firm Huawei has unveiled its latest Mate 9 smartphone in Munich, designed to challenge global market leaders Apple and Samsung with features including a high-quality camera and higher- capacity battery. As Korea’s Samsung struggles with negative publicity following the high-profile recall of its flagship Galaxy Note 7 smartphone in response to reports of it catching fire ...

  Bloomberg Since Instagram’s inception in 2013, stylishly-curated posts have inspired a unique frenzy to buy things — from the perfect shade of brown lipstick for the fall, to the uber-flattering off-the-shoulder top worn by your favorite social media influencer that promises to be the solution to all your wardrobe woes. And the fashion industry has taken to Instagram like ...