Kiev / AFP Ukraine said on Wednesday it no longer had conscripted soldiers fighting pro-Russian insurgents for the first time since a conflict that has claimed nearly 10,000 lives began in April 2014. The announcement by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko comes as the former Soviet republic tries to form a fully professional army that can conform to NATO standards …

  Karachi / AFP The death toll from an explosion and fire at a Pakistan shipbreaking yard has risen to 16, officials said on Wednesday, as a search continued for more victims. At least 59 others were wounded on Tuesday when a gas cylinder exploded and started a fire inside an oil tanker at the Gadani yard in the southwestern province …

  Hong Kong / AFP Two lawmakers who want Hong Kong to split from China wrestled with security in parliament on Wednesday, with one of them dragged from the chamber and security staff left injured, as fears grow Beijing will step in over the saga. Widespread concerns that China is tightening its grip on the semi-autonomous city are fuelling an independence …