The Hague / AFP Initial results from a criminal inquiry into the downing of a Malaysia Airlines flight over war-torn eastern Ukraine nearly two years ago will be available within months, Dutch prosecutors have said. The results are expected to shed light on the exact type of missile used to shoot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 on July 17, …

  New Delhi / AFP A mysterious cult at the centre of deadly clashes in India was running its own pseudo-government, army, court and a prison where torture was the norm, a senior police officer said. Some 3,000 followers of the sect clashed with police in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh during an eviction operation, leaving 24 people dead, …

  Beirut / AFP Russian-backed Syrian troops pushed into the IS group’s bastion province Raqa on Saturday, threatening to catch the extremists in a pincer movement as US-backed Kurdish-led fighters advance from the north. The lightning advance from the southwest with Russian air support brought the army to within 40 kilometres of the Euphrates Valley town of Tabqa, site of …