ANBAR / AFP Heavy resistance has slowed Iraqi forces as they pushed forward toward the center of a town held by IS militants in western Anbar province, commanders at the scene said. Hundreds of roadside bombs, car bombs and heavy mortar fire slowed advancing Iraqi troops to a near halt Tuesday after entering the small town of Hit the previous ...

Ankara/ AFP Turkey’s authorities launched a probe Wednesday into an alleged leak of the personal data of some 50 million citizens which threatens to compromise the information security of much of its population. The massive database—purportedly containing the names, identity numbers and addresses of those listed —was posted online by hackers earlier this week along with sharp jabs at the ...

Dhaka/ AFP Some 20 million poor Bangladeshis are still drinking water contaminated with arsenic, two decades after the potentially deadly toxin was discovered in the supply, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday. A new report from the rights group said Bangladesh had failed to take the basic steps needed to tackle the problem which kills an estimated 43,000 Bangladeshis every ...

Matagis / AFP Azerbaijani and Armenian forces on Wednesday said they were largely observing a truce that halted four days of clashes which claimed scores of lives in the worst outbreak of violence in decades over the disputed NagornyKarabakh region. “The ceasefire was largely observed overnight along the Karabakh frontline,” the Armenia-backed separatist defence ministry in Karabakh said in a ...

Moscow / AFP Ukrainian military pilot Nadiya Savchenko, convicted over the killing of two Russian journalists, began a hunger strike without water on Wednesday to demand her return to Ukraine, her lawyer said. Lawyer Mark Feigin wrote on Twitter that Savchenko had started a “dry” hunger strike—refusing both food and water—on Wednesday morning, after posting a letter from her demanding ...

Romania / AFP Two workers from an Israeli intelligence company have been arrested in Romania for trying to intimidate the head of the national anti-corruption agency and hacking e-mails, officials said on Wednesday. An arrest warrant was issued on Sunday for Belgian David Geclowitz and Israeli-born Ron Weiner, who holds a French passport. Both work for Israeli firm Black Cube. ...

Brussels / AFP The European Union launched a drive on Wednesday to overhaul the EU’s asylum rules to more fairly share responsibility for an unprecedented influx of migrants despite resistance within the 28-nation bloc. The European Commission, the EU executive, unveiled options to reform the rules two days after Greece began to expel migrants to Turkey under a controversial deal ...

Tokyo / AFP US military bases remain essential to Japan’s security, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in an interview on Wednesday, as he brushed off comments by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump that Tokyo should be left to defend itself. Japan’s alliance with Washington has been the bedrock of its defence since the end of World War II, and the ...

Brazil / AFP Brazilian President DilmaRousseff’s battle to cling to power enters a crucial phase on Wednesday as lawmakers hear a motion on whether there are grounds to impeach her. A congressional committee has wrapped up its preliminary sessions and will now hear lawmaker JovairArantes present his recommendation on whether congress should vote to open an impeachment trial. He is ...

So much of America’s future is at stake in the 2016 presidential election. But let’s focus for a moment on just one area — energy and the environment — where the Obama administration has made startling progress that could be reversed if either of the GOP front-runners becomes president. Energy Secretary Ernie Moniz, arguably President Obama’s best Cabinet appointment, has ...