US Muslim groups have condemned Saturday’s hostage-taking incident at a synagogue in the US state of Texas.

All four people who were held hostage at a synagogue in the US state of Texas have been safely released, more than 10 hours after a gunman disrupted a religious service and began a tense standoff with police.

Expressing his concerns over human capital flight from Iran, the most influential Iranian Sunni leader called on the authorities to find urgent and new solutions to the country’s economic and living problems.

The Taliban administration that seized control of Afghanistan has proposed a joint body of its officials and international representatives to coordinate billions of dollars in planned aid.

The United States has approved the release of five more prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay military facility, although this does not mean they will be leaving the controversial prison anytime soon.

France’s interior minister said on Wednesday he had ordered the closure of a mosque on the French Riviera because of anti-Semitic remarks made there.

A leading Sudanese protest group on Sunday rejected a United Nations initiative to hold talks with the military aimed at restoring the country’s democratic transition following an October coup.

More than 160 people were killed and 5,000 arrested in Kazakhstan after the riots that shook Central Asia’s largest country over the past week.

The former head of Kazakhstan’s domestic intelligence agency has been detained on suspicion of high treason after he was fired amid violent protests.

Murree was declared calamity hit on Saturday after at least 16 people froze to death in cars stranded in snow amid a glut of tourist influx.