Kabul / AFP The Afghan Taliban on Wednesday announced Haibatullah Akhundzada as their new leader, elevating a low-profile religious figure in a swift power transition after officially confirming the death of Mullah Mansour in a US drone strike. The surprise announcement coincided with a Taliban suicide bombing that targeted court employees near Kabul, killing 11 people in an assault …

  Colombo / AFP Sri Lanka appealed on Wednesday for foreign aid to recover from massive floods that caused an estimated $2 billion worth of damage and claimed more than 100 lives. Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said 35,000 homes were damaged in last week’s floods triggered by the heaviest rain for early 25 years, with the capital Colombo the hardest …

  Beirut / AFP Kurdish-Arab forces launched a major assault against the IS in Syria’s Raqa province and Iraqi forces advanced on it in Fallujah, piling pressure on the extremists in two strongholds. The twin offensives marked some of the most serious ground efforts against IS since the group declared its self-styled “caliphate” straddling the Syrian-Iraqi border in 2014. Territory …