MOSCOW / AP Russia released drone footage on Monday showing new destruction in Syria’s historic town of Palmyra, which was recently recaptured by the IS group, and warned that the militants could be planning the further demolition of antiquities. The Russian Defense Ministry says Syrian government forces are advancing toward the town as another battle for the ancient site …

  WASHINGTON / AP Embattled national security adviser Michael Flynn’s fate as one of President Donald Trump’s senior aides is uncertain following reports that he discussed US sanctions with a Russian envoy before Trump’s inauguration. A top White House official sidestepped repeated chances on Sunday to publicly defend him. The president, who spent the weekend at his private club in …

  PESHAWAR / AP In a scathing indictment of Pakistan’s treatment of Afghan refugees, a human rights group charged on Monday that the country is forcing hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees back to their homeland, which is still beset by war and crushing poverty. It also said that a $400 stipend the United Nations refugee agency gives to refugees …