London, United Kingdom | AFP |  Thousands of residents from 650 London flats were evacuated Saturday due to fire safety fears in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, but dozens refused to leave their homes, according to local officials. Four of the five Chalcots Estate towers in Camden, north …

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP |  The Eid al-Fitr feast marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan is to start on Sunday in Saudi Arabia and neighbouring Gulf states, the religious authorities announced. Uganda in East Africa also announced the moon had been sighted. Sheikh Yahaya Kakungulu , …

London, United Kingdom | AFP |  Britain’s parliament shut down external access to e-mail accounts on Saturday following a cyberattack. Parliamentary authorities described the attack as “sustained and determined”, in an email sent to lawmakers and published by the Daily Telegraph. “Earlier this morning we discovered unusual activity and evidence …

Juba, South Sudan | AFP | South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation gripped by civil war, has cancelled its official independence day celebrations for the second year running. “We are not celebrating… because our situation does not require us to celebrate at a time when there are people in need …

Seoul, South Korea | AFP |  The World Taekwondo Federation has changed its name to World Taekwondo after becoming uncomfortable with the “negative connotations” of its acronym, WTF. The body has been named World Taekwondo Federation since 1973, but it has been considering a change since the slang abbreviation ‘WTF’ …

Tehran, Iran | AFP |  Both Iran and Qatar on Saturday voiced support for Saudi Arabia over a suicide bombing near Islam’s holiest site in Mecca despite their severed ties. “Iran… as always expresses its readiness to assist and cooperate with other countries to confront these criminals, who deal death …

Seoul, South Korea | AFP |  A North Korean soldier defected to the South after crossing the heavily fortified border, a defence ministry spokesman said Saturday, the second soldier to defect this month. “A North Korean soldier defected to one of our Guard Posts at around 9:30 p.m. on Friday …

Beijing, China | AFP |  Chinese authorities launched a frantic search for around 100 people feared buried after a landslide smashed through a mountain village in southwest Sichuan province on Saturday, local authorities said. Some 40 homes in the village of Xinmo were swallowed by huge boulders after the side …

Politicians from at home and abroad led the tributes as Botswana mourned the passing of former President Sir Ketumile Masire. “He had the charisma, people would come and follow his rallies. This man had the gift of the gab,”  said former Speaker of the National Assembly Margaret Nasha. That charisma, combined …

Sochi, Russia | AFP |  Portugal are set to rest Cristiano Ronaldo for Saturday’s clash against New Zealand as the Euro 2016 winners look to clinch their place in next week’s Confederations Cup semi-finals. Ronaldo brushed off allegations of tax evasion in Spain with man-of-the-match performances in the 2-2 draw …